


Someone to Protect

by Xiaobai1357



Series: The Adventures of Aiya and Sesshomaru [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Gen, Protective Sesshomaru (InuYasha)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28369110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xiaobai1357/pseuds/Xiaobai1357
Summary: Sesshomaru is an aloof, high-ranked youkai, and absolutely hates all hanyou, including his little brother Inuyasha. Or does he? Only a couple of people know that Inuyasha had a little sister. Even fewer people know how much she means to Sesshomaru. And of these few people, two are dead, one is Sesshomaru's own mother, and one is Inuyasha.
Relationships: Brother/Sister
Series: The Adventures of Aiya and Sesshomaru [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077650
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based off Inuyasha. I do not own any of the characters except Aiya.
> 
> I wrote this because I got sick of people declaring that Sesshomaru was a ruthless youkai. I hope you enjoy this story! I worked really hard on it :)
> 
> Join my discord! If you're a fan of this fanfiction and want to know when I upload, click the link and join! Special privileges of joining my discord: Original character face reveals, giveaways, and more! https://discord.gg/AGHjpTE5

Sesshomaru felt that he was laying on something soft. Perhaps, he thought after carefully considering the texture and smell, it was grass. He must had been unconscious from Inuyasha's attack. Damn that hanyou. He was a disgrace to his heritage. He had never thought Inuyasha would use Kaze no Kizu. He opened his eyes slightly and almost shut them again at the light streaming through the leafy canopy above him. The air smelled of nature and flowers. It was a rather nice change from the usual gist of smoke and dead bodies he was now used to. The smell made him rather nostalgic. It was a smell associated with something he had long ago lost. Cutting off his thoughts, he averted his gaze to his right, and it fell on a young girl tiptoeing away from him.

She looked about 3 years old, and had white hair and pale skin. She didn't seem to notice him just yet. He hair was down in two braids, and she was wearing a simple white kimono, stained with dirt from working. On her head, however, she had a piece of white cloth covering the top of her head. There seemed to be something sticking out from underneath it… next to him, there was, on a large green leaf, a single fish and a bamboo canister filled with water laid on it. "Fish doesn't suit my taste," he said. The girl froze and turned around to look at him. "I am a demon lord," he continued. "Human food doesn't suit my taste." She averted her gaze, but didn't say anything, as if too afraid to talk. They stayed like that for a while, until a voice from far away screamed at her to come do her chores. She flinched at the sound and them bolted away.

The next day, she came again. Once again, she brought a single fish and water in a bamboo canister with water. And once again, Sesshomaru said that it didn't suit his taste. But this time, after she left, he ate a little. The day after that, when she came back, she had a bruise on her face and her white kimono was stained almost brown. "What happened to your face?" Sesshomaru asked. When she didn't answer, Sesshomaru glanced down at his food to refuse it again. He noticed that instead of a fish, she brought him a piece of wheat. She must had been stealing the fish. The villagers probably punished her for it. For some reason, this bothered Sesshomaru slightly.

On the fourth day, when she came again, Sesshomaru confronted her. "Come here," he said. She, looking a little surprised that Sesshomaru hadn't said the food wasn't his taste again, tentatively stepped forward, and kneeled in front of Sesshomaru. He tore off the white cloth covering her head. Eyes widening in shock and panic, she backed away, desperately trying to cover her ears. But Sesshomaru saw them. "You're a hanyou." It was not a question. Terrified, she grabbed the remains of her hood on the ground and covered her ears back up. She had ones like Inuyasha- pointed ears on the top of her head like a cat or dog.

"Who sent you?" Sesshomaru demanded. The girl didn't say anything, just tried to cover her ears. Sesshomaru, who in reality had already healed on day one, stood up and grabbed the white cloth from her hands and threw it far away. He forced her hands away from her ears. "Who sent you?" he repeated. In his experience, there were no good youkai, or hanyou. If he met one, it was not a coincidence. The youkai was either sent or looked for him themselves.

The girl didn't answer this question. She simply whimpered and tried to struggle from his grasp. "Go back to whoever sent you, and tell them I will not be fooled. He let go of her, and she scampered away, pausing only to pick up the white cloth and tie it over her ears again. However, as Sesshomaru will realize and come to regret later, she _wasn't_ sent by some other demon lord to spy on him, and he shouldn't had tore off the white cloth covering her ears.

When she arrived at the village again, the villagers were waiting and ready for her. "Where did you go this time, you thieving girl?" a man growled, stepping forward threateningly. "Don't make me slap you again." She shook her head, terrified, and backed away slowly. "Oh no you don't." The other villagers surrounded her. " _You_ are going to tell us where you go after you steal our food and pay us back for it." While backing away, she bumped into one of the villagers, who grabbed her arms to prevent her from running away. In the struggle to escape, the white cloth she tied insecurely around her ears fell off. And the villagers stared at her.

"She's a youkai!" The man who threatened her was the first to recover. She could have scared them away or ran away herself at this time. But she didn't. Her terror left her rooted to the spot, and her manner made it obvious that she was no threat. So the villagers howled in rage and started attacking her. With every thud of a stick she felt pain bloom, and she cried out as they hit her. And her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent scream as a pike was stabbed into her waist. Pain spiked out and her vision became white. Then she fainted.

Conveniently, right after she fainted, a young wolf king named Kouga arrived at the village and the villagers just happened to be his choice of lunch for his wolves. As each and every one of the villagers were slaughtered, they died cursing the girl as they believed she brought demons upon them as punishment. One wolf, seeing her already unconscious on the ground, picked her up between it's teeth and prepared to bite down only for Inuyasha to arrive. To fight, the wolf dropped her and ran off to battle with the alarmingly powerful hanyou.

When Sesshomaru found her the next day, she was covered in blood with several broken bones and bruises, barely alive. Her white kimono, once a clean white, was dyed red. Sesshomaru didn't understand why some innate part of him felt regret, sadness, and grief. Grief for a random hanyou he didn't even know. A hanyou, like that stupid Inuyasha, an insult to his heritage… heritage… family… Aiya. There was only one hanyou he didn't find a disgusting insult of youkai, and that was Inuyasha's little sister Aiya. But she was already dead. She went missing when she was three. She had white hair and ears on the top of her head like Inuyasha. She liked wearing them in braids, and… now that he thought about it, this hanyou looked like her. A lot. What if…

Sesshomaru tried to cut off his thoughts, but they, for once, did not obey his control. No matter. He would find out. He took out Tensaiga and concentrated on Aiya- no, the hanyou girl. As the Tenseiga glowed, he saw the demonic little creatures from the underworld crawl onto her. With one measured and precise sweep of his sword, the creatures dissolved into ash, and the girl's eyelids twitched. Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he swept the girl off the ground and into his arms, bringing her away from the accursed village.

Centuries of training taught Sesshomaru to hide hid emotions and that's what he did, as his face remained an impassive mask. However, inside his emotions churned and swirled like an angry colony of bees swarming after stolen honey. He started thinking about what he had shoved to the back of his mind for centuries- the subject of Aiya. Aiya was his half-sister, or Inuyasha's little sister by blood, but she couldn’t be more different. While Inuyasha was arrogant, irrational, hot-headed, disgraceful, rather idiotic, and stank of human (the list could go on and on, but for the sake of this story I'm going to leave it at that), Aiya was shy, quiet, modest, caring, and rather intelligent. Plus, her smell was notably more pleasant than Inuyasha's.

Shunned across the court because of she being hanyou, while the children of other high-ranking youkai and humans chased each other around the yard with their silly games, Aiya would sit in a swing on a tree in the corner of the courtyard listening the splash of fish in the pond, or the rustle of leaves in the wind. She found these things brought her peace, although having some friends to play with would bring her happiness. Sometimes, she found herself simply staring at the playing children, soaking in the sounds of laughter and the sound of feet pounding the earth. She would even go as far as to imagine herself in one of their places, just for the sake of the pure joy radiating out of those games. Maybe if she asked to play, she would be happy too. But Aiya was not completely ignorant about how people regarded on her. She understood the bias towards hanyou. However, she was naïve. Way too naïve… Sesshomaru closed his eyes and he sank into his memories of his half-sister.

_It was a bright and sunny morning. Today, Sesshomaru and his mother were supposed to visit the other half of his father's family. The human one. With the filthy half-breeds. Sesshomaru still couldn't believe his father would stoop so low as to marry a human and give birth to hanyou. His respectable, powerful father. What a waste of time. He could be training or studying instead of meeting his hanyou half-siblings… In the carriage, Sesshomaru glared at the large house now coming into view. When it was time to step off the vehicle, he instantly transformed his expression from a disgruntled one to an icy glare. All shall cower beneath his fury. He almost huffed indignantly, then stopped himself. It would be very un-royal like to huff._

_The instant he stepped off, the putrid stink of humans came in waves. It was all he could do to not gag. He could tell his mother was also suffering. His father lived_ here _sometimes, for heaven's sake. Had he no- Sesshomaru cut off the disrespectful thoughts. His father was the respectable figure in his life. He would not change that. While he and his mother were toured around the courtyard by a servant- a_ human _servant, oh how Sesshomaru itched to slice his head off- a different servant went to fetch the half-breed children for them to see. However, it seems that the children themselves felt shame, for they didn't appear until dinner._

_By dinner, Sesshomaru was already sick of the smell. He didn't see how he could go through an entire month of the stink. However, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief as the door behind him closed and he was alone with only youkai smells. That was, before his half-siblings entered… "Sesshomaru, this is Inuyasha and Aiya." He blinked as the words cut off his deep inhalation of youkai scent. The hanyou called Inuyasha had extremely messy white hair and was wearing the robe of the firerat. The other hanyou called Aiya had white hair down in two braids but unlike Inuyasha, her hair was neat and clean. She wore a simple white kimono with blue flowers around the edges. They both had white dog ears on top of their heads. Sesshomaru looked at them with disdain. The girl shrank a bit and averted her gaze, while the boy stomped up to him and demanded, "What's with the look?!"_

_Sesshomaru shot him an icy glare and Inuyasha shivered, backing down. This youkai was not one you should pick a fight with, his instinct told him. Their seats were arranged according to family. Sesshomaru and his mother sat on one long side of the rectangular table, while Inuyasha's mother, Inuyasha, and Aiya sat opposite to them. Their father sat at the head of the table. For once, Sesshomaru found himself not paying attention to his father's words, something that had never happened before. Instead, he felt himself noting the differences between his half-siblings, their personality, their way of dressing, and most importantly, the smell. Inuyasha stank of normal hanyou odor, but Aiya, for some miraculous reason, didn't. Instead, Sesshomaru found that her smell actually appealed to him slightly. It was a natural smell, one of grass and flowers. He knew this was her real smell- if it were perfume he would be able to tell._

_There was just one thing he couldn't figure out. Why did this smell appeal to him? Perhaps because it was so confusingly different than the normal hanyou smell, but… it still didn't make sense. So, Sesshomaru made his decision right before the appetizer course came- to keep an eye on Aiya. A close eye. So that's exactly what he did. Over the course of the next few days, he observed her behavior. And from this observation, he gained a few vital pieces of knowledge about her. One: When it was time to play, she would sit in a swing tied to a tree branch in the corner of the yard. Unlike Inuyasha, who would stand in the middle and bounce his ball, demanding attention. Two: When it was time to study, she would soak in all the lessons and absorb them like a dry sponge in water, unlike Inuyasha who would fall asleep before the first ten minutes passed. And three: She had a talent of being unnoticed. She always somehow managed to slip past the stern gazes of the adults, or sometimes her raised hand would go unnoticed by the teacher. Unlike Inuyasha, who managed to make a racket everywhere he went, even in the classroom._

_There was another important fact to note. Aiya was naïve. Extremely naïve. She was not ignorant of how people regarded her, whether human or youkai. However, despite this, she made an effort to play with human children. On the fourth day he watched her, she paced around the swing nervously, wringing her hands. Finally, she seemed to muster up the courage to do something. Hands still tangled together, she walked briskly towards the playing children, as if afraid she would turn around and run the instant she slowed down. Within five seconds, she was in front of the group. They stared at her. Stuttering slightly, she asked tentatively, "C-can… can I play too?" She stumbled over her words. The group of children just stared. Awaiting the response, she looked up hopefully. And the children, one by one, began to laugh._

_"You? Play with us?" one of the children mocked. Aiya, not getting it, smiled nervously, and nodded. "As if!" a boy jeered. "We don't play with stupid, stinky youkai!" Her tentative smile faded and she looked as if they had just punched her in the stomach. Which is exactly what they proceeded to do. When his fist his her, she fell to the ground, feeling winded. Another girl proceeded the stomp on her face, and she whimpered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Youkai!" They jeered as they hit her with stones and covered her with dirt. Some kids began kicking her and pulling at her ears. Unable to watch this scene any longer, Sesshomaru found himself taking an action that surprised himself- he walked up to the group and glared at them. Icily._

_The first to realize Sesshomaru was there was a boy yanking at Aiya's soft white hair. His eyes widened at Sesshomaru, and backed away almost comically fast. The other children, following his gaze, ran screaming, "Youkai!" away from Sesshomaru and towards their parents who turned a blind eye to their bullying and were currently gaping at Sesshomaru. And these adults were not the only ones. Sesshomaru's own mother stared with utter disbelief at him for defending a hanyou. And so did Inuyasha. The Sesshomaru he knew over the last few days didn't bother himself with these actions, just looked at hanyou with disgust and disdain written across his cold face. The courtyard was so quiet now you could hear a pin drop._

_Noticing the courtyards sudden silence, Inu no Taisho and Inuyasha's mother came out to look at what happened. And they both stared in unflattering bafflement. Ignoring all reactions, including his mother, who mouthed furiously "What are you doing", he bent down and asked, "Are you okay?" Which made everyone watching believe that he was an imposter. For a brief moment. Then Aiya sniffled quietly and nodded. Then, he did something completely not matching his personality. He picked her up. And carried her indoors. And set her down. And asked for a doctor. And ignored all the frantic questions his mother demanded him to answer. And left. Leaving Aiya, his mother, Inuyasha, Inuyasha's mother, Inu no Taisho, countless servants, and the noble parents with their children staring at his retreating back in wonder._

_The next day, Sesshomaru ordered a servant to bring Aiya to his room. The servant opened his mouth as if about to ask something, but, after seeing the icy glare Sesshomaru shot him, did not question him, and scrambled off. A few minutes later, Aiya was standing in the doorway, shifting from one foot to the other with her gaze to the floor. "Come here," he told her. His tone was not unkind. Tentatively, she walked forward and stood there. "You can sit down," Sesshomaru said. She sat down, her hands still wringing themselves in her lap. "My name is Sesshomaru," he continued in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "As you might already know. I am your half-brother." He paused, unsure how to continue. He wasn't very good at this kind of thing. Lucky for him, Aiya nodded to show that she understood. "Can you talk?" He winced at the bluntness of the question. Surprisingly, Aiya nodded with a timid "Yes". This was going better than Sesshomaru expected. What he says next will be extremely important._

_"I presume you enjoy your studies?" Rather surprised at these choice of words, Aiya once again said yes. Sesshomaru smiled. "And which of those subjects do you enjoy the most?" This continued for about 30 minutes. Although it helped to loosen up the tension a bit, Aiya still didn't dare talk too much. And suddenly, Sesshomaru had a brainwave. He pulled out a book, and handed it to Aiya. "If you do not prefer to stay here I shall not detain you, but I believe you may enjoy this book. It is a book of 50 fairy tales." Aiya, surprised once again by this turn of events, whispered a thanks, took the book, and left the room._

_The next day, Sesshomaru again called Aiya to his room. This time, however, it was Aiya who surprised him with a quiet, "Thank you for helping me and for the book," before sitting down in front of him. This time, Sesshomaru asked how she liked the book. She said she loved it, and by the end of the day, she was talking normally with him. Satisfied with his progress, the next day Sesshomaru asked if she would like private lessons with him. She smiled genuinely and said yes. For some reason, just seeing that innocent smile on her face made Sesshomaru unexplainably happy._

_Sesshomaru's lesson explored the history of the western lands all the way to the many youkai their father had defeated, and Aiya listened with fascination and he plowed through the many battles across youkai history. She absorbed every date, action, and general that died. When Sesshomaru quizzed her, he was pleased to find that she had not forgotten a single detail. This lesson went on for hours, until while listening to the rivalry between Inu no Taisho and Ryuukotsei, Aiya fell asleep on Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru froze. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with something like this. There was perhaps only one option… slowly, mokomoko curled itself around Aiya, hugging her to Sesshomaru's chest. Mokomoko was rearranged to suit Aiya's comfort, and Sesshomaru leaned against the wall, Aiya sleeping soundly in his lap._

_He didn't sleep that night. He watched over Aiya. While he had thought her face was the most innocent thing in the world, the record was immediately replaced by her sleeping face. He had never seen such a peaceful expression on her. It was either worry, or fear, or shyness, or sadness. Most recently, her face had acquired a new look of shy happiness, but that was also different than this relaxed, peaceful expression. He sighed. He never thought he would ever think this about anyone in his life, but he had to admit it… she was adorable._

_"Enjoying yourself?" Sesshomaru's head snapped towards the sound to find his mother standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face. Expressionless, Sesshomaru ignored her, and brought his attention back to Aiya. He found the softness of those ears fascinating. Annoyed, his mother repeated, "Sess, don't ignore me. I asked if you were enjoying yourself." When he still didn't answer, she stomped her foot. "_ Sess! _" Slightly irked by his mother's incessant whining, Sesshomaru internally rolled his eyes. Without looking up, he answered, "It would please me, Mother, to stop calling me Sess. My name is Sesshomaru. Besides, I do not see the point of asking a question when you already know the answer." His mother rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "How do you expect me to know the answer?" she groaned. "Since when were you so friendly with hanyou?" When he didn't reply, she ranted on._

_"Yes, I know the answer to the question. It's so obvious! The look in your eyes! It's not just obvious, it's unbelievable! All that time you were disgusted with 'half-breeds' and now you're nursing one like your own baby! Has your brain turned upside down?!" Sesshomaru remained indifferent. "So, Mother, to put it crudely, you are suggesting I have gone crazy." "Yes! That's exactly it! I mean… no…" In his lap, Aiya stirred. He froze, relaxing when she fell back into deep sleep. He sighed. If he didn't put an end to this, this could go on all night, and, most importantly, it might wake up Aiya. "All right, Mother." he sighed. "I understand the idea you are attempting to convey. May you please leave me alone now?" His mother huffed. Glaring at her son, with a vague threat of "We'll talk about this tomorrow", his mother left._

_Just like that, weeks passed. Every day, Aiya played and had her lessons with Sesshomaru. Inuyasha attempted to join in a few times, but gave up after falling asleep several times and getting 0/10 on Sesshomaru's quizzes. Before Sesshomaru knew it, they were packing. They had three more days of staying for the visit, and then they would go back to their palace. But he didn’t want to leave Aiya. Not yet. However, he_ did _want to leave the stink of humans behind. So, he made an offer to Aiya. "Would you like to come to our palace?" Aiya's eyes widened in surprise. "I… I can come with you?" she asked, not believing her luck. Sesshomaru nodded. Aiya opened her mouth as if about to say yes, but then paused. Sesshomaru noticed. "What's wrong?" "I…" Aiya hesitated. "Inuyasha onii-san will be lonely if I leave." Expressionless, Sesshomaru simply said, "I see." Internally, he was cursing that hanyou._

_"Keh, you don't have to worry 'bout me," snorted Inuyasha. "I'll be perfectly fine." Sesshomaru felt a pang of… jealousy? That Aiya still looked at Inuyasha with worry despite his words. "Well," Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "When you make your decision, please let me know." And so Aiya, it seemed, continued pondering what she should answer. Two days passed. It was now the night before Sesshomaru was supposed to leave. Aiya now only had two more hours to decide. "Just go," Inuyasha groaned. "It's too annoying to see you sit here and think all day." Yet, Aiya still did not decide. Sesshomaru felt his heart sink a few notches. If she chose no…_

_At this moment, Sesshomaru caught a whiff of smoke. He gave it no second thought… at least, not until a loud, resounding crash echoed throughout the courtyard. "What was that?!" Sesshomaru whipped his head around towards the sound. He caught a whiff of evil youkai. With only a few moments to spare, he threw himself on top of Aiya before the next blast shattered the roof on top of them, raining debris and dust. Aiya was unharmed, thanks to Sesshomaru, but her human mother was unconscious. Sesshomaru, with his supreme durability, was also unharmed, as was Inu no Taisho and Inuyasha, who's firerat robe protected him. And, above him, loomed the most terrifying youkai Sesshomaru had ever seen in his life. Even he was slightly creeped out, and this was_ Sesshomaru _. And, judging by the tightened grip and the trembling, Aiya was definitely terrified._

_The youkai had glowing red eyes with slits for pupils and a gigantic mottled head with sickly yellow horns. It's entire body was a demonic shade of green, with armored scales glinting in the moonlight. It's claws, so sharp to the point that a leaf was cut in half the instant it touched one of them, was a dark gray, and it roared, the sound blasting itself into the family's ears like a weapon itself. It was, in a way, majestic as it was terrifying. Inu no Taisho leapt up, drawing the Tessaiga. The blade sliced through the monster's body before anyone could even blink. The monster rippled and disappeared, yet the heavy fog of youkai scent did not dissipate. "It's an illusion," Inu no Taisho sighed. "This is going to be more annoying than I thought. We'll have to split up and find the real form of the monster."_

_And so they did. It was Inu no Taisho with the two women, and Sesshomaru with his half-siblings. He didn't mind being with Aiya, but he soon got extremely annoyed with Inuyasha's whining. "Why the hell would this monster show up right when you were about to leave? If he's targeting you, then just get the hell out of here already! I swear, if my ball gets lost in this chaotic mess-" "Inuyasha." Sesshomaru shot him an icy glare. "Silence." And Inuyasha stopped talking. Aiya, on the other hand, was shivering, from cold or from fear Sesshomaru didn't know. And that's when the blast came._

_The youkai's true form was a demonic little imp, with pointy horns on his head and yellow eyes. This was nowhere similar to the beast they had seen earlier- on the contrary, to Sesshomaru, it looked disgusting. Pitiful, even. But Sesshomaru underestimated it. When it opened it's mouth, powerful energy contracted into a sphere and hurled towards the group. Sesshomaru countered it, but when the dust dissipated, the imp was nowhere to be seen. It's must had fled, Sesshomaru reasoned. And so he waited for the fog of scent to clear. But it didn't, instead, it thickened, and the room darkened from a normal night to pitch-black. When Sesshomaru finally realized what was happening, it was too late. He only had time to duck before a second blast sailed over his head. Apart from a few singed hairs, he was unharmed. So was Inuyasha. That's when it struck him that Aiya had disappeared. Panic welling up in his chest, he called for her._

_"Aiya! Where are you?!" he shouted into the darkness. There was no response. "AIYA!" he tried again, once more receiving no response. His panic had almost reached a breaking point, when a demonic little cackle sounded over his head. He swiped with his claws, earning a high-pitched little shriek and the point of a horn. The darkness cleared. Sesshomaru stepped forward poised and ready to attack, when the demon grabbed a fistful of white hair and pulled Aiya off the ground, evidently holding her hostage. Sesshomaru cursed._

_His mind had just began working out the ways he could possibly save Aiya when the demon, still grasping Aiya's hair, fled into the sky. For the second time in his life, Sesshomaru cursed. Again. That must be a record- cursing two times within five minutes. But for the first time in his life, Sesshomaru felt weak. He couldn't attack, or Aiya would die. He couldn't threaten it, or Aiya will die. The imp is smaller than Aiya, so he cannot attack with speed. He could do nothing as he watched the imp fly away with Aiya in it's grasp._

_When he went back, he could feel his father's disappointment. Inuyasha spent every spare moment not looking for Aiya cursing him to hell, until finally he snapped and started strangling Inuyasha only to be stopped by his father. Not long after, when his father and his human wife died, the family began to fall apart. Inuyasha went to live in a forest next to a village, who's miko guarded the Shikon no Tama, and Sesshomaru began to wander the world. To remain at the top of the food chain, he pushed his only weakness to the back of his mind. In time, he would forget it was there. However, he could not forget it itself…_

"S…Sesshomaru-sama?" Sesshomaru opened his eyes and glared at the imp in irritation. Jaken immediately shrank back at his gaze. "What is it?" he asked irritably. Jaken, flustered, stuttered, "W-well S-sesshomaru-sama… w-what are you doing with t-that hanyou?" Sesshomaru simply answered, "Keeping her." Jaken's eyes widened in surprise. "B-but Sesshomaru-sama… she's a dirty half-breed! What can you possibly do with a hanyou like that…" he trailed off at Sesshomaru's icy death glare. He gulped. Better not question Sesshomaru right now.

They walked in silence for a few hours. Suddenly, just as the sun began to set, Aiya… no, the hanyou girl… stirred and opened her eyes. Sesshomaru immediately stopped, causing Jaken to smack his face onto Sesshomaru's leg. The girl opened her eyes and stared at Sesshomaru in wonder. Sesshomaru contemplated what he would say. What if she was Aiya? How would he explain the situation between him and Inuyasha? What if she wasn't Aiya? Would this all be false hope? He cut off his thoughts. He had been doing that a lot recently. It was much unlike him to be this anxious… but again, this was about Aiya.

"Are you Aiya?" The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He was desperate for the answer. The girl paused, her ears twitching. She opened her mouth and closed it, then averted her gaze to somewhere on the forest floor. "A-are… are you onii-sama?" Sesshomaru stared at her. Then he simply said, "I am Sesshomaru." The girl stared at him for a few moments. Then her eyes widened. "Onii-san…" she hiccupped and threw herself into his arms, nuzzling his mokomoko. "I'm Aiya! Onii-sama, I'm Aiya! Oh, I'm Aiya!" she clutched Sesshomaru's robe, tears running down her cheeks as she sobbed. Jaken leapt up almost immediately, pulling Aiya off Sesshomaru. "HEY! GET OFF SESSHOMARU-SAMA YOU DIRTY HALF BREED! DON'T GO STAINING HIS ROBES WITH YOUR FILTHY TE-mmmphhh…" Aiya looked up at Sesshomaru in shock, tears still running down her face. "S-sorry…" she whispered. Sesshomaru felt anger pierce his heart. How dare Jaken hurt Aiya after all she had been through… he deserved every stain her tears made on his robes.

"Ignore Jaken," Sesshomaru said, shooting his coldest-ever glare at Jaken. Jaken gasped, feeling as if someone had just stabbed icicles into his heart, and backed away. Extremely quickly. Without a word, he swept Aiya into his arms and walked away, leaving a very confused and agitated Jaken trailing after. When he saw that Jaken was following, he turned around to face him. Jaken froze, absolutely terrified that he had crossed some unknown line. "Jaken," Sesshomaru started. Jaken braced himself for the inevitable punishment. "Do not follow." "Y-y-yes, S-S-Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken squeaked, eyes still shut tight. Satisfied, Sesshomaru walked toward a more private setting.

After walking for about ten minutes, with Aiya stumbling over roots and Sesshomaru catching her every time, they reached a small cave. Although it was a rather unexpected reunion location, it was the safest. Why, in a clearing your enemies could be sneaking along the trees and perfectly hidden. You, on the other hand, will be in plain view. No, better a cold, water-dripping cave. Or that's how outsiders like villagers see it. A cave is not a hole in a stone mountain with sharp spikes hanging down the roof, freezing water dripping onto your head. No, it is a rare creation of ethereal beauty which you cannot find anywhere else. It is difficult for one to realize this, not when they are too wrapped up in their own troubles. One usually has to experience many dangers and learn from wise words to realize the beauty of nature. Yet, Aiya has accomplished the power of seeing this. At a mere forty years old. In human years, that's about three.

Inside the cave, Sesshomaru sat Aiya down in his lap and took a good look at her. Apart from some dirt one her face and a few scrapes on her knees, she looked unharmed. Perhaps the Tenseiga had healed her life-threatening injuries along with reviving her. Sighing, he moved his hand towards her head to stroke her soft white ears. She flinched. Quickly, Sesshomaru drew is hand back. He still remembered how he tore her hands away from her ears when he didn't know she was Aiya. Remembering this, Sesshomaru frowned. "Aiya, why are you ashamed of your ears?" Aiya flushed. She was silent. After a while, she finally mumbled, "The villagers don't like them." Sesshomaru wordlessly wrapped his arm around Aiya, hugging her to his chest. Some inner part of him ached for Aiya and her pain. It must be hard to be such a young hanyou living among humans…

Wait. Why was she still this young? It has been 250 years since she'd last gone missing. What if she wasn't Aiya… Sesshomaru drew away from her and pressed her against the wall. Gently, just in case it's the real person. "May I inquire how you are still so young?" Aiya stared at Sesshomaru's armor. "I-I don't know…" she stuttered. "I wanted to asked why Onii-sama was so old now…" Sesshomaru frowned. Something was off here. "It has been 250 years since you have gone missing," clarified Sesshomaru. "250 years?!" Aiya's eyes widened. "But… but that can't be! I mean, I've only been at that village for about a month…" Suddenly, Sesshomaru had a brainwave. "Aiya, what was the first book I let you borrow?" "The Tales of the Miko, Hoshi, and Youkai," Aiya whispered. Sesshomaru relaxed, letting Aiya down onto his lap once more. "Aiya, pray tell me what happened after that imp stole you away," he said. Aiya opened her mouth to talk, but, at that moment, Inuyasha's voice rang through the little cave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second chapter! Thank you all so much for reading (if anyone even sees this) and giving feedback (if I get any anytime soon). Happy late New Year and Happy first day of school (at least for me). I hope you enjoy this!

"Sesshomaru! Teme! Come out here! I know you're in that cave!" Sesshomaru internally groaned. Why did Inuyasha have to choose _now_ of all time to interrupt? He had smelled Inuyasha's scent five minutes after he entered the cave, but he didn't want to interrupt Aiya. Aiya, who didn't inherit the dog-demon's sensitive nose, had no idea that Inuyasha was approaching until she heard his voice. As if unable to believe it, she whispered, "Onii-sama… is Inuyasha onii-san… here?" "Yes," Sesshomaru replied, striding briskly toward the cave entrance. "Aiya, stay here." Aiya nodded. Satisfied, Sesshomaru exited the cave to find Inuyasha with his group, poised in battle stance with his sword out, dressed in his traditional robe of the firerat. "Oh," Sesshomaru said coolly. "I did not know that you held your aniki in such high esteem, Inuyasha." "Keh, who holds ya in high esteem? No one here," Inuyasha scoffed. "Why would ya even think that?" "Usually, I would deny your need to know such," Sesshomaru said. "But today, I am feeling generous, and so I will offer you some reasoning. Why else, little brother, would you strive to come to me instead of running away?" Inuyasha growled. Then, he did something extremely strange.

"I wanna talk to ya about something. Alone." he glanced at his companions. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Inuyasha's friends also looked confused, whispering to one another. At last, the miko stepped forward. "All right, all right. We know we aren't wanted here. Have a nice brotherly reunion." she huffed. "This has nothing to do with him!" Inuyasha shouted. Then realized he shouted. "Oops… I didn't mean to shout…" he laughed nervously. The miko looked worried. "Inuyasha, if you're angry about something…" "No, I'm not!" he assured hastily. "Okay…" the miko sighed. "Just… be careful." "I will." Inuyasha answered. With that, his friends left. "Now," Sesshomaru inquired. "What is it that you feel the need to inquire me about?"

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Kagome sighed. "What is Inuyasha thinking?" she complained to Sango and Miroku. "Well, whatever it is, it seems private and he doesn't want us to know," sighed Sango. "Are you telling me that Inuyasha trusts this 'secret' to Sesshomaru more than he would to us?!" Shippou demanded. "Calm down, calm down…" Miroku soothed. "Well, my ladies, should we do the honors?" Sango and Kagome both stared at him. They inched away. "What are you thinking, Miroku??!!" Shippou made a gagging face. "No, no, not what I mean," Miroku laughed nervously, hands held up. "Well then, what do you mean?" inquired Sango. "Well of course," Miroku winked. "We spy on them."

Hiding in the bushes, the gang watched the two brothers. Sesshomaru's indifferent face was cold as ever, while Inuyasha looked slightly nervous and angry. "Now," Sesshomaru said coolly. "What is it that you feel the need to inquire me about?" Inuyasha glared at him. Finally, he responded. "When I was heading over here," he began. "I caught a whiff of your scent, and, most importantly, Aiya's." His features contorted. "What have you done with her? I thought she had went missing 125 years ago! Has she been with you all this time?" Sesshomaru's features remained impassive. "I do not understand what you are trying to imply." "Ya know what I mean!" Inuyasha exploded. "I can smell her! Where is she? Where have you kept her? Teme, if you've done anything to her…" Sesshomaru shot him an icy look. "For your information, she indeed went missing 125 years ago, but I have not kept her." "Then why do I smell her scent on you?!" Inuyasha glared. Sesshomaru sighed. "That is because, my little brother, I have met her and from now on, I am keeping her safe." "What?! When?! How?!" "I met her right after you, as to crudely put it, chopped my arm off." He motioned at his dangling sleeve.

At this point, the gang was whispering furiously with one another. "Who's Aiya?" Kagome asked. "How should I know?" responded Miroku. "I hope, whoever she is, she's safe," worried Sango. "Guys! Guys!" exclaimed Shippou. "Sesshomaru said that he was going to keep her safe. What if she's Sesshomaru's lover? And Inuyasha said 'if you've done anything to her…'! What if he also loves this Aiya character?!" There was a pressing silence as the gang absorbed the weight of Shippou's statement. "Are you saying…" Kagome said slowly. "That Kikyo-sama was _not_ Inuyasha's first lover?" "There is this possibility." Shippou nodded seriously. Kagome looked slightly depressed. "D-don't worry, Kagome-chan," Sango tried and failed to reassure her. "That's only a possibility…" Miroku sat on the side looking awkward.

The bubble of awkward silence was broken by Inuyasha's next question. "Can I see her?" Sesshomaru seemed to contemplate this for a moment. Finally, he simply answered, "Yes." Then he turned toward the small cave. "Aiya! You can come out now!" At this point, Kagome turned and ran away from the scene. Sango with Kirara in her arms, Miroku, and Shippou chased after her. "Why did she run away?" asked Shippou. "We were about to see what she looked like!" "I think she didn't want to see Inuyasha reunite with his lover. She's seen enough of him and Kikyo." Miroku reasoned. "Poor Kagome," sighed Sango. "This is going too far. We'll have to talk to Inuyasha about this." "I agree," chirped Shippou.

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"Can I see her?" Inuyasha asked. At this question, Sesshomaru felt the scent of Inuyasha's companions fade away quickly. It was obvious that they had been spying on them, and had decided to leave at that question. What was going through their minds, however, Sesshomaru had no idea. But back to Inuyasha's question. Sesshomaru contemplated this problem for a while. If he let Inuyasha see Aiya, he could potentially take her away. But that would be way too dangerous, with Inuyasha's group chasing after Naraku and fighting youkai every other day. Plus, he couldn't trust Inuyasha to protect her well enough. He was only a weak hanyou. No, better she stay with he, Sesshomaru. On the other hand, Aiya probably wants to see Inuyasha. If he sends Inuyasha away without her seeing him, she could get upset. Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Sesshomaru sighed. There was only one option. "Yes," was his simple answer. He turned around towards the cave. "Aiya," he called. "You can come out now."

Aiya emerged from the cave, walking tentatively towards Inuyasha. "Inuyasha onii-san?" she asked quietly. Inuyasha stared in shock. "Ya haven't changed a single bit," came the blunt response. There was a brief silence. Then Inuyasha ran up to Aiya and held her up. "I can't believe it! You're not dead!" He laughed and spun her around, earning a brief giggle from Aiya and she felt the wind blow on her face. Finally, Inuyasha set her down. His wide grin faded. "But where have ya been, all these years?" he asked. "That is exactly what this Sesshomaru had inquired when you rudely interrupted us," sighed Sesshomaru, earning a glare from Inuyasha. "Whatever, I don't care what ya asked. I just wanna know." Aiya looked rather confused. "For… for me it's only been a month," she said quietly. The two brothers exchanged a glance. "That, we shall look into after you inform us what happened." Sesshomaru concluded. Aiya nodded and began, sinking into the memories of her plight.

"After the youkai took m-" she shivered, then continued. "Took Aiya into the air, he may had decided that Aiya was of no more use, I don't know- but he threw Aiya away, down, down, down into the darkness. Aiya was scared as she fell. She thought she would die. And then everything was black. When Aiya woke up, she was on sand next to water. Aiya thinks that she might had fell in water, and was washed there. Aiya then went and walked into a forest, to where she didn't know. But after a while a village appeared, and they helped Aiya. But then the youkai attacked and the villagers started accusing Aiya of being bad luck, so they hired a miko. The miko threw a stone at Aiya, muttered something, and Aiya fell asleep. When Aiya woke up again, there was a cat on Aiya and the stone was on the ground. Aiya left and soon got hungry. After a while, she saw another village. She decided to cover her ears because the last villagers sent her away because of it. But this village wasn't as nice as the last one. The men were all gone to war, and the woman and children didn't want another mouth to feed. So Aiya left again. She then found another village. The people there were bad, but Aiya needed food, so I stayed there until Onii-sama came to me."

Her voice trembled while she was talking, only steadying slightly towards the end. Sesshomaru noted the extreme amount of 'Aiya's and 'she's there were. Aiya's words were brief and left out many details, but, judging by her terror, the "not as nice" and "bad" parts hid a lot of unfair treatment and beating. He remembered how the villagers he found her with treated her…sadness filled his heart. Aiya had been through so much, and was unable to face it. Inuyasha also looked regretful. Sesshomaru, however, beat Inuyasha to talk. "I'm so sorry, Aiya…" he said quietly, gently stroking her hair. Aiya turned to face him, trembling slightly. Finally, without a word, she threw herself into his hold, crying all her troubles and worries and fright out. Inuyasha also reached for her, but it was clear by Sesshomaru's posture that he wasn't going to let him touch her. Glaring at Sesshomaru but being unable to do anything, Inuyasha drew back and watched Aiya shake. When she had finally calmed down, he whispered, "Aiya, I am so sorry," and ran his hand through his white hair, cursing quietly. Aiya smiled. "Thank you, Onii-sama, Onii-san."

Inuyasha turned to Sesshomaru, opening his mouth. Sesshomaru cut him off. "I know what you are going to suggest," he said. "Aiya remains with me." Inuyasha's sad expression morphed into indignation. "Why? It'll be better for her if she goes with me," he protested. Sesshomaru shot him an icy glare. "It will be too dangerous," he said sharply. Not backing down, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru bickered back and forth. Finally, Aiya's quiet voice interrupted. "N-ne, what if… what if I stay with Onii-sama for some time, then stay with Nii-san for some time?" she suggested. The two brothers looked at each other. It was something neither of them wanted, yet it was a compromise. So they agreed. After arguing a little bit more on the time, they both agreed on one month for each of them. It was decided that they would start with Inuyasha, as she had already stayed with Sesshomaru for a while.

Inuyasha walked back to his companions. For some odd reason, they were all clustered together and whispering furiously. "What's up with y'all?" he asked. The group froze. "N-nothing…" Sango said, laughing nervously. "Is that so?" Inuyasha frowned, then shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, I came here for some news." The group tensed. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "What is it that you guys are so nervous about?" he questioned. "N-nothing! Just continue with your news!" Miroku assured, hands up. Inuyasha took a good look at them, and, not having found anything strange symbol that meant they were being controlled by Naraku or someone else, preceded to his news. "So guys, I'm sure you spied on me and Sesshomaru talking, so I'll just get to the point," he said, rolling his eyes when he saw them cringe. So _that's_ what all the fuss was about. "So, we decided that Aiya would be staying with each of us for a month. At the end of each month, we would bring Aiya to the other, and so on. Any questions?" Shippou raised a tentative hand. "Yes?" asked Inuyasha. "Do… do you love Aiya?" Shippou asked. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Of course! What kind of silly question is that?"

In front of him, Sango and Miroku were gesturing wildly for him to stop talking. Glancing at Kagome, Inuyasha felt a shiver go down his spine as he noticed the terrifying aura forming around her. "I….nu…ya…sha…" Kagome growled. Inuyasha backed away nervously. "SIT!" With a yell, Inuyasha crashed to the ground face-first. "Ow! What was that for?" Inuyasha groaned. But Kagome was not done yet. "SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!" After yelling so loud she was out of breath, Kagome finally stopped and Inuyasha was able to crawl up from the ground. "Inuyasha…" Miroku sighed, shaking his head. "Do you still not get it? Kagome-san is jealous of Aiya." Inuyasha blinked confusedly. "Why would Kagome be jealous of Aiya? She's my little sister!" The entire group froze. Miroku looked thunderstruck. Sango and Kagome stared at each other. Shippou blinked. "SAY WHAT?!" the entire group exclaimed. Inuyasha looked stared. "You spied on me and you didn't know that?" "W-well… Kagome ran off before we knew Aiya's age, and Shippou said-" "Hey!" Shippou cried indignantly. "Shippou said that Aiya was you and Sesshomaru's lover!" "What?!" Inuyasha stared at Shippou. "Shippou ya teme…" he stalked towards Shippou, who backed away. "AH!" Inuyasha punched Shippou on the head. "Ow! Inuyasha! What was that for?!" Shippou shrieked. "For earning me ten 'osuwari's from Kagome!" Inuyasha glared at him.

Inuyasha dusted off his hands. "And now, back to the original topic." He turned around. "Aiiiyaaaaaa! You can come out here now!" The group all stared in the direction Inuyasha was yelling at. At his voice, a head of white hair with two puppydog ears poked out from around a boulder. The figure walked tentatively towards the group until her features were visible. It was a young girl with her silky white hair in braids, tied with a light blue ribbon. She had the same kind of ears as Inuyasha, perched on the top of her head. With her wide blue eyes and pale skin matching her white but slightly dirty kimono, she was the most adorable thing they had ever seen in their life. "K-konichiwa," she smiled shyly. Kagome could restrain herself no longer. She picked Aiya up, hugging her to her chest. "K…K…K… KAWAII!!!" she cried. Aiya blushed. Finally. Kagome put her down. "Aiya-chan, my name is Higurashi Kagome. Nice to meet you!" The others soon followed. "I'm Sango, a youkai slayer," Sango smiled. "Hi! My name is Shippou! Nice to meet you!" Shippou beamed. "My name is Miroku, and I am a hoshi. My dear, dear girl." he clasped her hands in his. "Will you bear me a ch-" Sango smacked him on the head with her Hiraigotsu. "Hoshi-sama! She's still a child!" she glared at him.

"Speaking of her being a child," Kagome asked. "How old his she?" Inuyasha thought for a moment. "That's a good question. She was sealed for about 125 years, so I'm not sure if that should count, but if we were to not count it… then she's 43 years old. Very, very young." "Wow!" Shippou exclaimed. "That's younger than me!" The effect of this age was lost to Kagome. In her mind, an image of a forty year-old woman was one around her mother's age… "I…Inuyasha…" she laughed awkwardly. "Are you sure you got the age right?" They all stared at her. "What's wrong with the age?" Inuyasha asked. "Kagome-chan isn't used to how long youkai lives." Sango explained. She turned to Kagome. "74 youkai years is about three human years. But Aiya is a hanyou, so, in relative to her mind and body development, she is about three years old." "Oh, that makes so much more sense." Kagome sighed. Then she thought of something.

"Wait. If Aiya-chan's forty, then Inuyasha, how old are you?" Inuyasha hesitated. "I'm not really sure. I mean, I haven't really been tracking dates… but I'll say about 270 years. In human years, that's about 15." Kagome brightened. "Hey, then you're the same age as me!" "Only relative to mind and body development," Sango reminded her. "Wait. But then… how old is Sesshomaru?" There was silence as Inuyasha thought. "Onii-sama is 476 winters old," Aiya said quietly, interrupting the silence. "Let's see… in human years that's about… 19, since he's a full youkai." Sango concluded. Inuyasha stared at Aiya. "How do you know?" "I keep track of you and Onii-sama's birthdays," she said shyly.

"Enough with the birthdays, everyone," said Miroku, clapping his hands for attention. "We need to focus on Naraku. How are we going to kill him?" As the group started discussing battle strategies, Shippou zoned out in excitement. Finally, a kid younger than he was in the group! And it was a cute girl too… he gazed at Aiya, and was rather surprised to see her listening. "Shippou? Shippou?" Shippou brought his attention back to Inuyasha, who was talking. "Oh! Um… yeah?" Shippou stuttered. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, then whispered to him, "Don't you get smitten with my sister. Remember, she's _my_ sister. Got it?" "Oh… um… yeah, okay," said Shippou, blushing. "So, what did you ask me?" "I asked if ya could get rid of that annoying tail of yours during your transformation. If sometime we need ya to transform into someone else, we can't have that tail of yours giving everything away." Shippou bristled. "Of course I can! I'll show ya Inuyasha!" And, with a poof, Shippou transformed into…

Sesshomaru?! Shippou then put on a supremely annoyed expression, and, acting all high-and-mighty, stalked over to Inuyasha and demanded him give him the Tessaiga. The group was laughing so hard they all fell over- all except Aiya, who looked a little bit angry. "Stop it! Onii-sama isn't a bad person!" She glared at a surprised Shippou, who had hoped to make her laugh. The others immediately stopped laughing, and, Shippou, looking slightly abashed, undid his transformation and muttered an apology. Inuyasha glanced around, aware of the tension in the group. Finally, he said to Aiya, "Aiya, leave us alone for a moment." Aiya fidgeted and mumbled a "S-sorry…" before she walked away. Inuyasha then turned to the group. "There's something you guys probably want to know," he told them. "Sesshomaru loves her a lot, and she loves him a lot too. Try not to insult Sesshomaru in front of her- you'll make her upset." "Well, that's news," Shippou replied sarcastically, earning a punch on the head. "Oh, and one more thing," Inuyasha added, as if nothing happened. "Don't tell her me and Sesshomaru hate each other and try to kill each other, and especially don't tell her I was the one who cut his arm off. Plus, keep in mind that she has been through a lot and… try and be nice to her." The group nodded. Inuyasha then went to get Aiya.

When Aiya came back, she looked ashamed, fidgeting with the edge of her kimono. When she was in front of the group, she immediately bowed and apologized profusely. The group, looking surprised, quickly dismissed her apologies and insisted they were the ones who were supposed to apologize. All in all, by the end of five minutes, all was well and everyone was happily chatting with one another. At the end of the day, the group bid their farewells to Sesshomaru, who acknowledged none except Aiya's, and the group continued their journey.

The next day, after sleeping with Kagome in her sleeping bag, Aiya was wide awake. Curious, she asked the group where they were going. The only answer she got was "to find Naraku". From her listening of the battle plans yesterday, she could gather that Naraku was a youkai who had caused almost everyone in the group considerable pain. Naraku manipulated her Nii-san and Kikyo's relationship into one of hatred, causing Kikyo to die and Inuyasha to be sealed for fifty years. Naraku opened the Kazaana or Wind Tunnel in Miroku's grandfather's hand, passing the curse down the generations and causing the death of Miroku's father. Naraku killed Sango's friends and family and was currently using her little brother as a hostage to manipulate her. This Naraku youkai was truly a monster…

"Ah! There's a village!" Kagome exclaimed. Following her gaze, they saw a village perfectly snuggled between two valleys. "I wish we could pass the night there and eat some food…" sighed Kagome longingly. Miroku held up a hand. "Leave this to me." he winked. Striding forward into the village, he cried, "O villagers, I sense a demonic aura around your village! Allow this hoshi to dissipate the youkai!" Sango rolled her eyes and Kagome shook her head. Sighing, Shippou jumped next to Aiya. "He always does that when we need food." he explained as Miroku started placing random sutras around the village. Finally he cried, "Youkai kaisan! (Demons dissipate)" and a black shadow flew into the air. Sango whistled, impressed. "I can't believe there actually _was_ a youkai," she said. "Me too," replied Kagome, shaking her head. Shippou agreed. Miroku pouted, pretending to be offended. "Now, now," Miroku sighed. "Do I really strike you as the dishonest type?" The entire group nodded. At this, Aiya burst out laughing. Surprised, the group soon joined in.

At midday, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Kirara went to take a look at another youkai threatening the village. Shippou stayed behind to "protect" Aiya. Shippou, excited to stay alone with Aiya jumped around. Taking Aiya's hand, he led her outside. "Aiya! Aiya! Look at this!" Shippou pointed to a mushroom excitedly. "It's a rare mushroom! Rumor says that it is the most delicious mushroom in the world!" he boasted. Aiya smiled. "That's great!" Shippou beamed at the praise. "Come on! Let's go gather some!" He led Aiya into a forest. "These mushrooms grow on these kinds of rotten logs," Shippou explained. After learning the types of logs the mushrooms grow on, Shippou and Aiya went in separate directions to search for more. Grinning, Shippou praised himself for being such a genius and giving them something to do. _And when Kagome and the others come back_ , he thought. _I'll make a mushroom stew with Aiya and then she'll like me and then Inuyasha will approve and then…_ he grinned as he imagined him and Aiya's wedding.

Shippou's daydreams abruptly ended with the loud resounding crash that came from Aiya's direction. "Aiya!" Shippou yelled. He rushed over to see Aiya in a deep hole, the last vestiges of dirt falling on her in small chunks. "Aoowww…" Aiya groaned. "Are you okay?" Shippou yelled down to her. She nodded. "Don't worry, I'll get you out!" Shippou started tossing her jutsu toys out and searching for one that could potentially become a rope. Finding none, he went and tugged on a vine until it snapped. Just as he was about to toss it down, he heard people approaching. Poising in a battle stance, he watched as two villagers walked out between the trees and came to a stop next to the hole. They were pretty far from the village they came from, so these villagers probably came from a different one. "Hey, our trap _did_ work!" one exclaimed gleefully. "Don't be so happy yet," said the other, peering down the hole. "It's not an animal we caught, it's a girl." "A girl?" The first one blinked confusedly. "What would a girl be doing around here?" "How should I know?" responded the other.

"HEY!" Shippou glared at the two. "I demand you pull her out at once!" The two men blinked. "Hey, did you see that talking fox here when we walked in?" one asked. "Nope." said the other. "HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME!" Shippou waved his arms indignantly. "And I'm not a talking fox! I'm a kitsune youkai!" "Y-youkai?!" The villagers gulped, but then raised their hoes and pitchforks. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOUKAI!" they roared, and then began to swing their weapons blindly. "Hey hey hey hey hey! Pull her out first!" Shippou pointed at Aiya. "Get lost! We don't follow the orders of youkai!" Shippou blinked. Where there were only two villagers, there was now about… ten??? What the… Shippou shook his head. No matter. As long as they don't notice Aiya's ears… as if on cue, one of the villagers shouted, "Hey! The girl in the hole has ears on the top of her head! She's a youkai!" Shippou sighed. Why was luck so hard on him? But then he saw the villagers approach Aiya with their weapons, and bristled. "Hey! You stay away from Aiya! Fox Fire!" The villagers all screamed and ran away at the sight of green fire being thrown at them. "Hah! How's that!" Shippou grinned.

Finally, after all the villagers had gone, Shippou helped her out and they walked back to the village they were staying at together. The rest of the day went rather smoothly- apart from the moment when Inuyasha noticed Aiya's scratches and bruises and got mad. After punching Shippou on the head three times yet earning only a single "Sit!" from Kagome, Inuyasha glared at Shippou, vowing to never trust him with Aiya again. But they had a nice meal of the food the village provided and mushroom soup, and slept soundly through the night. The next day, they thanked the villagers and left.

The next few weeks also passed without much significance. Before they knew it, the month was almost over. This particular time, it was a clear night with stars winking at them every time they looked up. They were camping in a clearing, surrounded by dark, looming trees who's leaves rustled in the wind. Sparks from the fire danced around. Everyone was slightly sad, especially Shippou, but oddly, both Inuyasha and Aiya seemed extremely tense. The group discussed and thought until Kagome came to a conclusion: "I think it's because it's almost the full moon. At the night of the full moon, Inuyasha turns human." They all nodded. "But why is Aiya tense?" Shippou asked. "Well, Aiya-chan is a hanyou too, right? What if she transforms during the full moon too?" Kagome suggested. They all sat thinking. "You know what," Kagome broke the silence. She stood up abruptly and stalked towards the pacing Inuyasha. "I'm just going to ask." "Wait… Kagome-chan!" Sango said. Kagome turned to look at her. "I'll come with you." Sango said. Kagome nodded. The two of them marched determinedly towards Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "Yeah?" Inuyasha replied without looking up. "I get that you're stressed about the upcoming full moon, but you usually aren't so stressed like this. So… is Aiya's human night also on the full moon?" "No." Kagome and Sango both stared at him, surprised. "Then why are you so stressed?" Inuyasha glared at the two of them, and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Really, I thought you two were smart." "Just get on with it," glared Kagome, feeling irritated. Not wanting to get her to say "sit", Inuyasha hastily started talking. "So, you know that the deal me and Sesshomaru made was to protect Aiya in turns. You realize that on the night of the full moon I can't protect her. So, if Aiya get's hurt that night, one, she'll be hurt, two, Sesshomaru will have my skin, and three, Sesshomar

u will also find out the night I am human. So, we have to keep her safe at all costs." "Phew," whistled Miroku. "That sounds like a whole lot of work to me." The two girls and Inuyasha stared at him. Sango raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you get here?" "Just now," Shippou chirped. After one punch on his head and one "Inuyasha, SIT!" later, Sango finally thought to ask the most sensible question: "Inuyasha, where's Aiya-chan right now?"

Inuyasha stared. "She isn't with you?" The group blinked. "Uh-oh," Shippou commented unnecessarily. For once, Inuyasha didn't punch him on the head, for the thought was shared by everyone in the group. "Let's split up and search," suggested Miroku. "I agree. Come, Kirara!" Sango said. Kirara instantly leapt in front of her and transformed. "Me and Hoshi-sama will go in the sky, and Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou you search on the ground. Inuyasha, use your sense of smell," said Sango. "You got it," grinned Shippou. The instant Kirara took off, Inuyasha started running straight into the forest. "Hey, Inuyasha! Wait for me!" said Kagome. Inuyasha skidded to a stop, letting Kagome jump onto his back with Shippou on her shoulder, and ran full-speed into the forest. Inuyasha frowned, wrinkling his nose. Kagome noticed. "What is it Inuyasha?" she asked. "Well, Aiya's scent _is_ this way, but…" "But?" "Well, so is Sesshomaru's." Kagome's eyes widened. "But- he's early! And he can't _possibly_ know that the day after tomorrow is the night you spend as human…"

"Foolish miko. I discovered Inuyasha's human night centuries ago." The two froze at the sound of Sesshomaru's voice. They had been so caught up in their thoughts Inuyasha hadn't even realized the scent of Sesshomaru approaching. "Teme. What are ya doing here?" he demanded. As normal, Sesshomaru remained expressionless. He simply glanced down. Following his gaze, Inuyasha's stare landed on Aiya. "Aiya! What are you doing here? You should be back at the camp…" "Onii-sama said that it's too dangerous for me to stay with Onii-san during the full moon." Aiya said. "But it's not the full moon yet!" Inuyasha protested. "Well, I believe you would have no way of knowing that I shall be the one protecting Aiya during your human night without someone informing you." "Well, you didn't have to take Aiya away from our camp!" Inuyasha glared.

"Bakamono," snapped Sesshomaru. "I only chose roundabout course of action because Aiya was sympathizing in your point of view and believed that if I were to show up without warning while you morons were tensing with every minute closer to the night of the full moon, you would be upset and likely attack me on the offensive. Of course, this Sesshomaru does not see the problem in that, as I shall deflect every one of your puny moves easily and it will be extremely unlikely you will be able to harm me in any way. Yet, I may, in defense to myself, possibly harm you or your foolish companions while all I had intended to do was deliver a message. So, you see, instead of incurring violence, which, as Aiya said, is a rather rash course of action, I agreed with her clear-minded logic and chose to allow her deliver the message. I shall, of course, follow her to the camp as to ensure her safety through the forest. Yet this did not go as planned, for, as a result of your hot-headedness, you and the miko rushed into the forest in a spur of panic, chasing after Aiya's scent. When you saw me, blinded by rage and selfishness, of course you would assume that I kidnapped my own younger sister for some sinister purpose." he finished sarcastically. Or he could have. Instead, he simply glared at Inuyasha.

In fact, Aiya was the one to defend Sesshomaru. "Onii-sama just didn't want to startle you guys, so he wanted me to pass the message," she cut in. Inuyasha stared at her. Then he shrugged, looking a little hurt. "Fine, if that's how ya want it." Turning around, he strode back towards the camp. Aiya, realizing her mistake, cursed herself. She rushed up to Inuyasha, stuttering, "Wait… Onii-san, that's not what I meant…" Inuyasha waved her away, huffing indignantly. Aiya's stepped slowed as, with a look of dismay on her face, she watched Inuyasha walk away, back turned. She put her head in her hands and cried as guilt washed over her. It was all her fault. She had hurt Onii-san. She had hurt him. Kagome tried comforting her. "It's not your fault," she tried to reassure Aiya. But Aiya continued crying. "H-he w-was just… just worried about me, but I didn't appreciate that…" she sobbed. Sesshomaru watched stonily from the side. Which is his expression when he doesn't know what to say or do. Suddenly, the ant crawling on his shoe became extremely interesting. He shook himself off, sighing a bit. Which, although luckily Aiya didn't notice, the miko heard and glared at him, taking it for impatience at Aiya's crying.

Oh well. He really wasn't good at this kind of thing. He truly appreciated Aiya's support, and was truly angry at Inuyasha for reacting that way, and for making Aiya feel so guilty. It wasn't her fault, for heaven's sake. She still loved them both equally, and nothing could change that. Inuyasha shouldn't be huffing at the fact that Aiya had defended him- once. So Aiya wasn't allowed to defend anyone? And how would he feel if Aiya defended him? He would be happy and not think about Aiya taking sides one bit. Sesshomaru himself, of course, wouldn't bother with the huffing and would definitely _not_ feel jealous. After all, she had every right to deny or proclaim any statements in the world.

He cut off his thoughts as Kagome hugged Aiya, rocking her back and forth. Maybe he should have done that. He decided to keep a mental note of the things the miko does to comfort Aiya. After a few minutes, Aiya rubbed her eyes and sniffed. Her voice still shaking slightly, she whispered, "T-thank you, K-kagome-neechan…" and picked herself up, walking towards the camp. "Wait… Aiya-chan! Where are you going?" "To… to apologize to Onii-san," she whispered. "Wait… it's not safe…" Kagome sighed. She was going to have a serious talk with Inuyasha about this later. "Wait! Aiya-chan!" She ran after Aiya, only to be stopped by Sesshomaru. "Let me handle this," he said calmly. Kagome felt anger flare inside of her. Part of this was Sesshomaru's fault. Plus, what was that impatient sigh about when Aiya was crying? Does he even care about her? Glaring, Kagome snapped "Get out of my way!", pushing Sesshomaru's arms away from her and trying to get through. Sesshomaru felt irked. Once again, he repeated, "Let me handle this." "You get out of my way!" Kagome spat out. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. Unfortunately, it was at this moment that they heard a scream. Aiya's scream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I have finished Chapter 3! This took me soooooo long. Thank you all so much for reading this all the way until now. I really appreciate it! I hope you all have a happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!

Kagome's skirt flapped as Sesshomaru zoomed past, leaving her in his dust. Before a single second had passed, she was completely alone. She stood there in shock for a few moments, then ran back to the camp to get Inuyasha. Sesshomaru, meanwhile, chased after Aiya's scent in the direction where the scream came from. After a few minutes, he arrived at apart of the forest where, oddly, Aiya's cent led in two directions- one to he left, one to the right. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at this. It was obvious someone was trying to trick him into going one way or the other. But no matter how well they could duplicate the smell, Aiya's was unique. They could not fool his nose, which had spent as much time as possible soaking in Aiya's beautiful smell. Breathing deep, Sesshomaru noticed a difference in the smells. One had a tinge of… smoke. The must be he counterfeit- for that smoky smell took the place of the tinge of flowers Aiya's scent always carried. Ad, no, it was not because she was around flowers. It was simply a flowery scent. The counterfeit one led to the left, so… Aiya must be to the right. Sesshomaru began to run once again. After running for another few minutes at full-speed, with Aiya's scent getting stronger with every step, he finally identified Aiya's kidnapper.

It was a youkai in humanoid form. And it had no youki (demon aura). Sesshomaru instantly put his guard up. From his centuries of experience, only the more powerful youkai could mask their youki. Usually, they are in humanoid form. The ones in demon form ironically, are the weakest, yet they inflict the most fear in humans. Powerful daiyoukai don't bother with this charade. Before the humans even realize what they are looking at, they are already dead. However, that doesn't mean youkai are powerful just because they are in humanoid form, or could mask their youki. But it would be a good choice to put his guard up. The youkai turned around. He had long black hair in a high ponytail tied with a red ribbon. His eyes were narrowed and he had sickly yellow irises with slits for pupils. He also had pale skin, but unlike Aiya's which was simply a soft rice color, his was a deathly white. He had purple markings on this face, not unlike Sesshomaru's father Inu no Taisho, and has scales along some parts of his face and the sides of his neck. He wore traditional youkai armor with a dark blue robe decorated with black swirls underneath, with a dragon skin belt holding two swords. Wrapped around him in a manner similar to how the mokomoko was wrapped around Sesshomaru, was a silk scarf that shimmered between dark blue and black in the night. And there, in his arms, was Aiya, trembling and eyes wide with fear.

The youkai's mouth stretched into a sinister sneer as he noticed Sesshomaru. "Well, well… it looks like the rumors are true. The high and mighty Lord of the West Sesshomaru cares for a half-breed girl." Sesshomaru tensed, hand reaching for his sword; the Tokijin, not the Tenseiga. "Oh, I don't think so, Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the lack of respect. "You see, if you make a single unwanted move, similar to drawing your sword… the hanyou gets hurt. And you wouldn't want that, would you?" Sesshomaru silently grinded his teeth. Curse this youkai. Curse this situation. How did the news even spread? But now was not the time to worry about that. He had to find a way of this situation. He had to save Aiya. He had to. The youkai, receiving no reply, grew annoyed. Holding up a claw to one of Aiya's ears, he glared at Sesshomaru. "Heed my threat! I, Orochiaku, shall not be ignored!" Sesshomaru lowered his gaze to Orochiaku's, his icy eyes boring into the youkai's. Orochiaku suppressed a shiver at that stare. It was icier than the Artic, and the Artic was cold. Really, really cold.

"You insisted that I speak. Very well." Sesshomaru's voice was laced with terrifying threat. "It seems that you have heard of this Sesshomaru. Yet, it seems that you are unaware of the mistake you just made." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. In those eyes held suppressed fury and not an ounce of mercy. Orochiaku's bravado instantly dissipated. He forced himself to smirk, although the panic and terror in his eyes gave it away. Talk was not working. There was only one option left. Action. "HEBI NO ODORI!" Orochiaku raised his sword and millions of snakes below him rose from the ground, enlarging by at least 2000% and, hissing and spitting, turned to face Sesshomaru. "ATTACK!" Orochiaku roared. The snake zoomed toward Sesshomaru, but were fried with a single stroke of his sword. "You are not allowed to draw your sword, Sesshomaru!" Orochiaku mocked with glee. He knew what to do now. With one quick stab, his claw pierced Aiya's ear. She screamed. Sesshomaru felt fury and shock pound his insides as he fought to keep his face impassive.

With his sureness that the snake youkai was too terrified to act, Sesshomaru had instead gotten Aiya in pain and, at the same time

, given Orochiaku confidence. Trying to find a solution, Sesshomaru stared at Aiya. Her face. Her ears. Her expression. It was one of pain, yet one of worry. Indeed, Aiya was worried about Sesshomaru. She had been the moment she had seen him approach, all the way until now. When Orochiaku sent snakes after Sesshomaru. When Sesshomaru drew is sword and sliced the snakes into pieces. Even when Orochiaku had clawed her ear, at the expression of Sesshomaru's face. Worry. Fear. Pain. Love. All those emotions built up inside her, swirling around in a furious tornado. Worry. Pain. Love. Fear. All those were the same thing, really. They could combine. They would combine. They did combine. They could mix. They would mix. They did mix. They could glow. They would glow. They did glow. As the emotions and the glow grew stronger, so did the power. Yes. They could be powerful. They would be powerful. They are powerful. _Release us_ , they chanted. _Release, release, release._ The pressure built up. And so she let it go. The combination. The mixture. The glow. The power. The blast.

The blast had a warning. It was a steady glow, that became brighter every second. And, in battle, a glow that bright usually led to two things. One was purification. The other was… explosion. Neither were great for Sesshomaru. Both were horrible for Orochiaku. Both were a life saver to Aiya. And so, Aiya released the blast. And so, energy shot out of her in waves. And so, Orochiaku was flung in a wide arc far away. And so, the energy, the power, the _life saver_ shook the earth. And so, Aiya floated gently down. And so, Sesshomaru, having been scraped by the blast but was fine, rushed over and caught her. And so, they were standing in a deep crater. And so, Inuyasha, hearing the blast, finally arrived. And so, his eyes widened. And so, Kagome and the others stared. And so, Aiya's life was saved.

"Holy shit!" Inuyasha stared down at the crater Sesshomaru, with Aiya in his arm, stood with no sign of an enemy. "What the hell happened here?" Sesshomaru, as usual, did not reply. Instead, his mind started rewinding and replaying what had just happened. He stared at the night sky. He had been fretting about the situation when Aiya had started glowing. It started dimly, then slowly, her entire form had shone with brilliance. Yet the light had been in peaceful harmony… for a brief moment. Then the light started churning. It became restless. Energetic. Protesting. And then came the blast, so powerful that it probably shook the earth miles around. And then… where was Orochiaku? Sesshomaru abruptly started walking in a what seemed like random direction. Then he winced, feeling pain pierce his side. He must had still been hit by Aiya's blast. No matter. "Oy! Sesshomaru! Where are you going? OY!" Shaking his head, Inuyasha gestured for the group to follow and ran after Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru walked briskly in the direction he had seen Orochiaku flung to. Finally, he sensed Orochiaku's scent nearby. Without hesitation, he drew his Tokijin and stabbed it at something that seemed like thin air. Orochiaku materialized, blood soaking his robes, skin smoking, charred. "W-why… h-how…" he gasped. Sesshomaru stared at him with disdain. "I seek nothing more than to battle the most powerful beings alive, which excludes the lowly likes of you." Orochiaku's eyes widened in realization as Sesshomaru struck the final blow. Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head. "He should know better than to make Sesshomaru mad." He turned to Sesshomaru. "What happened here anyway?" Sesshomaru didn't answer for a while. Finally, he sighed. "This Sesshomaru does not understand. The only one who may understand is Aiya." Shippou peeked out. "Is she okay?" he asked. Sesshomaru ignored him. Instead, he began walking in a what seemed like another random direction. The group, unsure of what else to do, followed.

"Oy! Where are you going this time?" Inuyasha shouted after him. As expected, Sesshomaru did not reply. Inuyasha shook his head in annoyance. "What an arrogant bastard," he complained to the group. "Yeah, as if you aren't one," Shippou replied snarkily, earning him a punch on the head. "OW!" he glared at Inuyasha. "Kagome, help me!" "Inuyasha…" Kagome started. "Oy Shippou, Aiya's not gonna like you if you keep sucking up to Kagome every time." Inuyasha smirked at the horror unfolding on Shippou's face. "It's all fine, Kagome! No need to help!" he said haughtily. Then he muttered to himself, "If I try hard too… if I try hard too…" After a while, they arrived at the giant crater they found Sesshomaru in. Sesshomaru walked to a nearby tree and stopped. "What, ya resting?" Inuyasha sneered. Sesshomaru was not paying attention to Inuyasha's words. Instead, he motioned for him to come nearer. Inuyasha approached, confused. Sesshomaru handed him Aiya. "Bring her to your camp." Sesshomaru's tone was calm and cold as always, as was his face, but Inuyasha could sense something was wrong. "What's wrong with ya?" he glared. "Aiya'll be worried, and ya know that. Why're ya leaving her with us?" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Bring her to your camp," he repeated. Inuyasha stared at him for a moment. Finally, snatching Aiya from Sesshomaru, he snarled "Fine," and stalked away. His group followed.

Sesshomaru couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. The pain in his side had been getting sharper and brighter every second, and was impossible to ignore, even for Sesshomaru. He quickly strode deeper into the forest, wincing with every step, and sat down, back against a tree in a half-laying position, nestled in his mokomoko. He untied his armor, letting it fall to the ground, and held part of his robe up to check the wound. His eyes widened. The area of pain was smoking dark gray. It wasn't as bad as Orochiaku's charred black skin, but it was still serious. He let out a long hiss. Then he redid his armor and robes, closing his eyes. He did not know what this kind of injury was, but he trusted his youkai body to heal just fine. So he rested.

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"What's wrong?" asked Kagome, noticing the frown on Inuyasha's face. "Sesshomaru's acting weird," Inuyasha replied. Miroku shook his head, looking confused. "I think it's your imagination. He seems just as cold and indifferent as always," he said rather spitefully. Miroku, although at first disappointed that Aiya was in fact _not_ Sesshomaru's lover and a beautiful young woman but instead a hanyou girl, later began to really adore her. Once, in the many weeks the group spent with her, he even clasped her hands and asked, "Will you bear me a-" only to be slammed on the head by Sango and her killer aura. He was dragged away, and Sango then lectured him about not asking children to bear him a child, in which Miroku protested that she was older than them both, therefore earning a slap on the face. But unlike he did to teenage girls, Miroku didn't do that with random children… that would just be plain weird. Instead, he did it to kids he really liked and loved; in a different, _unromantic_ way. Just as the entire group loved each other- like family.

He was slightly angry at Sesshomaru for thrusting Aiya away into them. He knew that she would be worried about him when she regains consciousness. Yes, that was Sesshomaru. Cold, uncaring, indifferent, unkind. Just like he always was. Yet still Inuyasha says… "I don't think it's my imagination though. I mean, he loves Aiya, he really does. And he loves being with her. It's really not like him to refuse to spend time with her." Miroku sighed. "Inuyasha, I really don't think-" "No! Miroku, listen. You don’t understand. You didn't see him with her a 125 years ago. Back then, Sesshomaru was much colder than now. Much, much more. He literally tried to kill every single human servant of my mother's that came across his path. And the only thing he detested more than humans was hanyou. And the only thing he despised more than hanyou was the hanyou that apparently dirtied the Inu clan. Yet while Aiya should be in the category of things he hates most, he loves her. They had lessons together, they slept together, he even invited her to go to the home he had at the time. You should've seen the look on his face when Aiya was captured. No, Sesshomaru loves Aiya, and only her." Inuyasha ranted.

Sango, Kagome, Shippou, and Miroku looked awkward. Finally, Kagome spoke up. "Inuyasha… are you… jealous of Aiya?" Inuyasha immediately shot a sharp glare at her. "Keh! Have you gone crazy? Why would I be jealous of Aiya?" "Hah! He _is_ jealous of Aiya!" Shippou whisper-shouted to the group, earning a punch on the head, a little harder than usual. "Ow! What was that for?!" Shippou wailed. Then he turned to look pleadingly at Kagome. "Kagome, help me!" "This time, it's Shippou-chan's fault." Kagome looked sternly at Shippou, who bowed his head and mumbled a sorry. "Keh!" Inuyasha turned away from the group and looked toward the direction Sesshomaru was in. "Well, I'm gonna go look, whether y'all approve or not." And with that, he set off. "Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha turned around. "What is it?" "Well, isn't it obvious?" Sango smiled, hefting up her Hiraikotsu. "Kagome's coming with you. Me, Miroku, and Shippou will look after Aiya." "Alright, thanks. Kagome, you can come, but don't slow me down," Inuyasha replied, and ran into the forest.

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Youkai rarely sleep, for sleeping was a time of vulnerability. The only times they chose to sleep were if they thought they were truly safe, or if they were unconscious. DaiYoukai only sleep about two to three times in their life. And their life is thousands of years. They only sleep when they are severely injured and their body needs sleep to heal. And, unlike normal youkai, when DaiYoukai sleep they are not completely defenseless. Even after suffering a severe injury, their subconsciousness is constantly on high alert. Sesshomaru was a DaiYoukai. He was sleeping to heal. And his senses were constantly on high alert. Which meant that his nose picked up Inuyasha's scent approaching at a rapid pace. And informed his subconscious. Which informed his conscious. Which woke him up. His first thought was _Damn you Inuyasha_. Why did Inuyasha come find him? Inuyasha should be fussing over the unconscious Aiya at the moment. Sesshomaru stood up, leaning on the tree. He then made his way deeper into the forest quickly.

By now, he and Inuyasha were moving at the same pace. At a pace where his ears could just barely pick up the voices of Inuyasha and the miko. "Inuyasha, are you sure it's this way?" the miko asked. "Of course I'm sure," came the irritable voice of the hanyou. "I can pick up Sesshomaru's scent perfectly well." "But it's been so long and he still isn't in sight…" the miko thought. "Now that ya say it, that bastard's scent isn't getting any closer." Sesshomaru could literally hear the frown in Inuyasha's voice. While focusing on the barely audible voices, Sesshomaru lost track of the forest ground and stumbled on a log blocking his path. He winced as he felt his wound open again. Curses. "Hey! I smell blood mingled in Sesshomaru's scent! And it's his blood!" This time he heard the hanyou's voice clearer than before. Perhaps because the volume rose in alarm. Tch. What a naïve hanyou. "What? How? Is that why Sesshomaru is avoiding us?" The miko exclaimed. "Keh! More like running away. OY SESSHOMARU, IT'S UNLIKE YOU TO FLEE FROM A HANYOU!" Inuyasha yelled at him. Sesshomaru snorted. Did Inuyasha really think he was such an idiot to fall for something like that?

But Sesshomaru had to find a place to peacefully rest or the wound could potentially become fatal after a few hours. And he had to erase his scent. He did not have enough energy to mask it, as all of it was used in both running and healing. But then Sesshomaru's sharp ears picked up the sound of rushing water. The water would wash away his scent. He changed direction. "Sesshomaru! You don't have to be afraid! We don't want to hurt you!" It was the miko's voice. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Did that naïve girl really think that he, the DaiYoukai Sesshomaru, would be afraid of a mere human and hanyou? Tch. How foolish. He simply wanted to rest in peace. He could now see the water. It seemed that Inuyasha's dull ears had finally picked up the explosive sound of the waterfall. "Oy! He's heading towards water! I won't be able to track him if he gets in it!" he heard Inuyasha tell the miko. Talk about explaining the obvious. Now next to the gushing water, Sesshomaru jumped in. He let the water carry him far downstream before, after a certain distance, getting out and flying to a farther location. There, he found a cave, in which he rested once more for the healing process to begin.

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"Damn! We lost him," Inuyasha cursed. Kagome frowned. "But Inuyasha, you said you smelled blood in his scent, right?" "Yeah. I think he's injured or something." "But from what?" Inuyasha hesitated, thinking. "I think it's from whatever caused that giant crater. And that bastard said that only Aiya understands what happens. So we ask Aiya when she wakes up." Kagome nodded. That was a reasonable conclusion. When they went back to the camp, they were greeted by Miroku and Sango. "Where's Shippou-chan and Kirara?" Kagome asked. "They're next to Aiya," Sango replied. "But don't worry about us. How did things go?" "Well… I was right when I said I thought Sesshomaru was acting weird. When me and Kagome were chasing after him, we noticed that after a while Sesshomaru's scent wasn't getting any closer. Then, I smelled blood mixed in his scent. And it's no doubt Sesshomaru's own blood." There was silence at this statement. Finally, Miroku spoke up. "But how did he get injured? It must be something really powerful." "We don't know," Kagome confessed. "Inuyasha lost track of Sesshomaru's scent after hearing the sound of water. We think he jumped in to wash away his scent. But it's most likely the same thing that made that giant crater."

Sango nodded. "That makes sense." "Yeah, and that bastard said that the only person that understands what happened is Aiya, so we just decided to come back and wait for her to wake up." Inuyasha replied. "I would like to know too," agreed Miroku, and together the group went back to where Aiya was, next to the campfire. It was nearly night. Shippou questioned them and Sango and Miroku, with the help of Inuyasha and Kagome, explained it to Shippou. "I see, I see," Shippou nodded seriously. With the group all filled in, they waited anticipatedly for Aiya to wake. But it wasn't until morning when Aiya stirred. "Hey look! Aiya's eyelids just moved!" Shippou exclaimed excitedly. The drowsy atmosphere of the group immediately sharpened to one of intense focus. Slowly, her eyes opened and Aiya stared into the intense faces of the group. "Aiya-we're-sorry-to-ask-ya-this-right-after-ya-just-woke-up-but-what-happened-to-ya-and-Sesshomaru-that-made-such-a-huge-crater," Inuyasha rushed out before anyone could say anything.

Aiya blinked, not really taking in all the words Inuyasha had just thrown at her. "W-what?" she stuttered. "Well, something happened to you and Sesshomaru right? Something that made a huge crater. Sesshomaru said that he doesn't understand it but you do," Sango explained. "Yeah! We wanna know!" Shippou grinned excitedly. "It's probably something super powerful since Sesshomaru got h- mmmpphhh…" Kagome had slapped her hand on Shippou's mouth to prevent him from spilling out that Sesshomaru was injured. Aiya thought for a moment, looking into the anticipating faces of the group. "Well…" The group almost leaned forward, but stopped themselves. "I remember this snake youkai named Orochiaku take Aiya, and then Onii-sama came. Orochiaku sent snakes after Onii-sama, who sliced them into pieces. But then Orochiaku got mad and clawed Aiya's ear. It hurt. But then Aiya felt…" At this she paused, unsure of how to describe it. Finally, she settled on, "But then Aiya felt something build up inside her. It wanted me to release it so I did, and that's all I remember." Suddenly she perked up. "Where's Onii-sama?"

"Sesshomaru is… taking a walk," answered Inuyasha. "Oh," said Aiya, disappointed. Meanwhile, the group was thinking about what Aiya had just said. If Aiya felt something build up inside her and she released it… does that mean _she_ made the giant crater? That _she_ defeated Orochiaku and injured Sesshomaru? That is huge news. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who looked at Miroku, who looked at Sango. Unfortunately, Shippou was excluded from the look exchange, but the gist was gotten. It was Aiya. Aiya is powerful. "I see. That explains everything." Everyone looked up, startled. "Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha gaped. "What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru's expression remained indifferent. "I have come to fetch Aiya." "But aren't you…" Inuyasha's gaze traveled to his waist, where the faint scent of blood still lingered. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "Am I what, Inuyasha?" "Oh never mind," Inuyasha sighed. Sesshomaru turned to Aiya. "Aiya. It seems that you hide extraordinary power that you are not aware of. I believe it shall do you much benefit to exercise that power, and this Sesshomaru has discovered the appropriate location to do so. If you consent."

"Of course I will!" Aiya beamed. Inuyasha stared, incredulous. "Are you nuts, Sesshomaru?!" Sesshomaru's gaze pierced his. "And why would I be, Inuyasha?" "You-" Inuyasha glared at him. That bastard knew very well that he wouldn't dare reveal that Sesshomaru was injured in front of Aiya. Aiya looked at them in confusion. "Onii-san… did something happen?" "No no, of course not!" Inuyasha immediately denied. "Okay then," smiled Aiya, looking at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru, to weirded out stares of everyone else, smiled back. "Let us go, Aiya," he said. Aiya nodded, beaming. "Good-bye, Aiya-chan!" Kagome was first to recover, hugging Aiya. The rest were soon to follow. "Saiyonara, Aiya-chan," Sango stroked her head. "Bye, Aiya!" Shippou bounced. "I hope I see ya soon, Aiya," Inuyasha also hugged her. Miroku was last. "My dear Aiya, although we shall now part, I would be delighted if you could bear me a- aagghhh!" Not only did Sango hit him on the head with her Hiraikotsu, both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha shot him icy glares, Sesshomaru's being the most terrifying. Aiya, however, laughed. "Bye everyone!" she smiled. Then she tugged on Sesshomaru. "Onii-sama, say goodbye!" Sesshomaru sighed. "Farewell," he said. As they left, Aiya turned back and waved at Inuyasha and the others.

"Well, that was…" Sango laughed awkwardly. "Weird." Miroku finished for her. "Is that bastard crazy?! Aiya's blast was what got him injured in the first place!" Inuyasha fumed. The group stared at him. "Hey, not that we're not thinking the same thing, but…" Miroku hesitated. "Are you worried about Sesshomaru?" "Keh! Who would be worried about that bastard?!"Inuyasha snapped. "I'm just worried how Aiya would react if he got hurt. I mean, he wouldn't be able to hide it from her this time, would he?" "That's true." Kagome sighed. There was a pause. Finally, Shippou shook his head. "She really does love him, doesn't she?" And for once, Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

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The wind sighed and the grass rustled as Sesshomaru and Aiya made their way through the field of pristine white daisies. The sun shone at them with it's full brightness, and you could hear the supposedly soothing sound of crickets beat at their eardrums. Finally, in the middle of the field, Sesshomaru stopped and turned toward Aiya. "Attempt it," he said. Aiya nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling she had before. It was not there. Think. What had caused it? A mist started to settle on the field. The tornado of emotions. Emotions. Emotions! So the power came from that. She reached deeper inside, towards her most furious inner turmoil. If the power came from emotions, maybe she could draw energy from that. She focused on that turmoil, and slowly and difficultly, the feeling slowly came back. But it wasn't enough. Although the emotions swirled, it was in a gentle breeze. It had to go faster. Faster. She urged them on, pushing them as hard as she could. But the emotion wasn't enough. She tried harder. A faint glow shone from that gust.

It was almost there… but she tired and couldn't push any further. The wind dissipated and so did the glow. She opened her eyes. "I can't, Onii-sama," she breathed before falling unconscious once again. Sesshomaru caught her before she hit the ground, sighing. It seems that it takes a lot of energy to conjure that blast. When used at the right time and place, it could be a very powerful advantage, but if she couldn't control it, it could potentially do a lot of damage to both sides. Then he sensed a presence. That irritating imp. Here again? "Jaken." "Y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" came the stuttering reply. "Do not disrupt us." There was a pause. Then came the "Y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama…" from the other side of the field. That should do. Sesshomaru settled on watching Aiya. After a few minutes, Aiya opened her eyes. "Are you ready to try again?" Sesshomaru asked. Aiya nodded. So they walked to the middle of the field and did it again.

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Remember Jaken? Well, this entire time he was lost. As in both mentally and physically. "Sesshomaru-samaaaa!" Jaken cried dizzily into the mist. "Se…sshoo…maaarruuuu…saaammaaaaaa…" Finally, Jaken fell face first into the mist. Did his Lord abandon him, just like that? No! It couldn't be! If Sesshomaru were to abandon him, he would at least say so first… but ever since Sesshomaru had left with the hanyou girl and ordered him not to follow, he hadn't returned. Wait! What if… what if that hanyou girl did something to Sesshomaru-sama?! No, it couldn't be. Sesshomaru isn't so weak as to be defeated by a puny hanyou girl. No, it had to be something else. But then, what was it? Mind clouded, Jaken stumbled into a field of flowers. And there, as if a message sent from God, were Sesshomaru and the hanyou girl.

"S…S…Se…" Jaken stared, not believing his eyes. "Seeessshooomaaarruuuuu-saaaaammmaaaaaaa!" Sesshomaru was standing facing the hanyou girl. The hanyou, however, was glowing faintly. They must be fighting! He knew it! The hanyou girl was activating some kind of power… but suddenly the glow dissipated, and the girl fainted. Sesshomaru caught her before she hit the ground. Then he carried her to the bottom of a tree and sat down, with her in his lap. For a moment, Jaken wondered if Sesshomaru had heard him at all, when suddenly Sesshomaru's voice rang through the mist. "Jaken." Jaken could feel Sesshomaru's glare pierce him, even with this distance. "Y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" he stuttered. "Do not interfere." "Y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama…" Jaken blinked confusedly. What was Sesshomaru trying to do with that hanyou? After a few minutes, the hanyou woke up, and Sesshomaru spoke up. "Are you ready to try again?" he asked. The hanyou nodded, and they walked back into the middle of the field. She started glowing again, only to faint once more.

This went on for hours and hours until the sun set. At this point, Sesshomaru simply said, "It is getting late. You must rest." Aiya nodded, and, exhausted and completely drained, fell asleep the instant she closed her eyes. Used to it, Sesshomaru once again caught her before she hit the ground. Then, carrying her, he disappeared into the mist. Jaken jumped up almost immediately, and hesitated for a moment. Finally, deciding that it was okay for him to follow them, he sprinted after Sesshomaru's retreating back.

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"I wonder how Aiya-chan's doing?" Kagome gazed at the deep blue night sky, with a mass of stars dotting across it, and occasional splashes of magenta and vibrant green. The brilliant waxing moon hung in the sky like a porch chair hanging from the roof. The night sky of the feudal era was so clear that it was almost like looking at the galaxy. In the modern times, the sky had become clouded by years of pollution and gas released into the air. A gentle breeze blew by, just barely threatening to chill before the crackling fire's warmth surged and wiped out all traces of coolness. It was somewhat peaceful. "I hope she's doing well," Sango sighed, running a hand through her hair. Inuyasha snorted, completely ruining the peaceful atmosphere. "Keh! I doubt it. With Sesshomaru training her? Who knows how long she'll last?" With that, he turned around and lay down, back facing the group. "Inuyasha's still upset about Sesshomaru choosing to help Aiya "exercise her power"," Sango whispered to the rest of the group. Miroku sighed quietly. "I wonder why? Is he worried about Sesshomaru or Aiya?" "Keh! Of course I'm worried about Aiya! Why would I care about Sesshomaru?" "He's eavesdropping," Kagome sighed. "He's eavesdropping," Shippou affirmed. Earning him a punch on the head. "OW! Why me?" he shrieked. "Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded. "Keh!" Inuyasha turned back around and ignored her. Kagome sighed.

"You've been saying "Keh" a lot lately," Miroku noted. "It's probably because he's been unreasonably annoyed a lot," Shippou snarked. Earning him _another_ punch on the head from an extremely annoyed Inuyasha. Oh Shippou, why can't you learn? "Inuyasha…" Kagome glared at him. Inuyasha ignored her. "If you don't apologize to Shippou-chan right now, I'm going to S - I - T you," Kagome threatened halfheartedly. Inuyasha huffed, then kept on ignoring her. Kagome didn't osuwari him. She sighed, once again looking up into the clear night sky. Through the now-tense atmosphere, it didn't look as beautiful anymore. Instead, it looked dark and looming, too mysterious to be safe. Every slight breeze now sent chills across her body, and the once-warming fire felt scalding when it tried to wave away the cold. Even the delightfully dancing sparks now posed a threat, as each and every tiny little pinprick of light could evolve into wild fire in a matter of seconds. Kagome felt her anxiety mount. Inuyasha's worry was in fact reasonable. She knew Sesshomaru was strong, and heard from Inuyasha that he loved Aiya, but what could those two do combined? What is the risk? The path of the future is so unpredictable it was intimidating to think about. And most importantly, she had no control over what would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! What will happen next? What will Aiya's power lead to? Where will the path of the future take them? I'm so sorry for leaving you all on a cliff hanger, but I promise Chapter 4 will come out soon, so make sure to keep an eye on this work!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter, because someone requested that I make the chapters shorter and more frequent. I hope you enjoy!

Aiya was in a very comfortable position, laying on something soft. She was warm and felt happy for some inexplainable reason. She could get up to find out the reason, but… she didn't want to move. But she wanted to find out. But she didn't want to move. She sighed into… fluff? She sniffed, fur tickling her nose. This texture and feel… what else could it be other than her Onii-sama's mokomoko? Which meant the soft thing that she was laying on was Onii-sama's mokomoko. And everything came rushing back to her. The kidnapping, the power, the feel, the emotion, the training. Everything. She sat up straight. And slammed her head into something hard. "Aooww…" she groaned, rubbing the top of her head. She glanced up to see what she had collided into only to see a dark ceiling above her. She glanced down, verifying she was on the mokomoko, and looked around. She was in some kind of hole, with the exit at her feet. Slowly and carefully, she turned towards the exit and crawled… and nearly fell down over the edge. The hole was in the side of a… mountain? And she was very high up, as she could see very far from her point of view. How did she get up there? She shook her head in confusion. No matter. If her Onii-sama's mokomoko was here, it meant that he put her here and here for a reason. She would wait. And she waited.

As she waited, her eyes began wandering around the places visible from her point of view. Down below her was a river, flowing towards her right in a circuitous fashion. In front of the river was a forest, and farther away was… the field they were in before! There was a lake to her left, shimmering in the soft glow of the rising sun. In the distance was a small but busy village and in the horizon, several grayish mountains stood majestically. She hummed to herself as she waited for Sesshomaru. And he came, just as bustle in the village began to die down and the sun had fully risen. "You're awake," Sesshomaru noted as he hovered in front of the hole. Aiya nodded, unsure what to say. "How long?" he asked. "Not very long," Aiya answered. She wasn't sure of the time. Sesshomaru nodded. "Why did you put me here?" Aiya asked. "I hid you here because the news that you have a strange power has spread. The reason is unknown, but no doubt you would be in danger if you were put in a obvious place." Suddenly, he stiffened. Aiya, noticing, asked, "What's wrong?" Sesshomaru stared off into the distance. "The wind carries Naraku's scent." Then he turned back to Aiya. "I must go. Do you wish to follow?" Aiya nodded. "Of course!" Sesshomaru's mouth pressed together, forming a shape with just a hint of a smile. Without a word, he lifted Aiya out of the hole and flew towards an increasingly dark cluster of clouds.

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Inuyasha's head abruptly jerked towards a seemingly random direction. Kagome noticed. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" She asked. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Although faint, this is no doubt Naraku's smell," he growled. Miroku's head jerked up in attention. "Naraku, you say?" he said. "Yeah," replied Inuyasha. "It has to be Naraku, or at least one of his incarnations." "Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Sango, who had just changed into battle attire and climbed onto the already-transformed Kirara, hefting up her Hiraikotsu. "Let's go!" Kagome nodded and she jumped onto Inuyasha's back. Miroku mounted Kirara. Just as they were about to leave, Shippou's voice came at them from a distance. "Heeeey! Don't leave me!" Last minute, Shippou scrambled onto Kirara. "All right! Let as embark on our journey once more, my fellow- aaahhh!" Shippou wasn't able finish his exaggerated boast before Kirara took off into the air.

They flew for a while, the group tensing more and more as each moment passed. What will they do when they finally reach Naraku? Sango thought back to the battle strategy they had discussed back when they had first met Aiya. How meaningless it now seemed, as if they were trying to prevent the inevitable- that they would die to Naraku. She shook her head. She could not think like this. They would defeat Naraku no matter what. Suddenly, Kagome broke the silence. "I sense Shikon No Tama shards," she said. "How many?" Inuyasha asked. "One," replied Kagome. One?! Sango's eyes widened. Could it be… Kohaku? But… she would have to decide sooner or later. To kill Kohaku or not. To end his life or not. To end this madness or not. Yet no matter how rational killing Kohaku sounds, she could not do it…

"Sango?" Sango's head jerked up. Miroku was looking at her in concern. "I'm fine," Sango said, brushing off his worry. "You're thinking about Kohaku, aren't you?" asked Kagome. Sango nodded. "Is this shard Kohaku's?" "I can't be sure, but it's highly likely." Kagome replied. Sango sighed. "Don't worry, Sango. You have me." Miroku smiled. "Hoshi-sama…" Sango smiled… until something that felt very like Miroku's hand rubbed against her rear. "Hoshi-sama…" Sango managed to speak, her entire body trembling with utter annoyance. Miroku sighed, smiling. "Such a wonderful feeling," he relaxed. SLAP. "And this refreshing pain," Miroku stuttered. "Completely expected." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "When can you get over this, Miroku?" he sighed, shaking his head. All in all, the atmosphere had lightened considerably. That is, until the group spotted Naraku's youki hovering in the sky. Not kidding. His youki was literally a cloud of poisonous dark purple gas swirling in the clouds. It had withered everything near it, including the trees and grass. The land it was above was as a result completely bare.

"Naraku!" Miroku hissed as Naraku appeared in sight. Naraku sneered. "Are you pleased to see me again?" "The opposite! I wish for you to disappear forever into the netherworld!" Miroku shouted. "Kazaana!" His wind tunnel opened, sucking in everything in it's path. "Oh, I don't think so," smirked Naraku. In an instant, four poisonous wasps appeared, hovering next to them. "Damn!" Miroku closed his wind tunnel before the bees could fly in. "Hiraikotsu!" Sango threw her weapon towards Naraku. Suddenly, Kohaku threw himself in front of Naraku and blocked the Hiraikotsu. "Kohaku?!" Sango gasped. Naraku sneered. "Well done, Kohaku," he said. Kohaku simply stood in front of him, face completely expressionless and without emotion. In fact, it lacked emotion so much that it wasn't even Sesshomaru's look of indifference. It was simply blank. And his eyes, as usual when being controlled, were dull.

"Kohaku. You take care of the youkai slayer and the hoshi." Without a word, Kohaku obeyed, zooming in front of Sango and Miroku. "Naraku you bastard!" Inuyasha leaped forward, raising his sword. "Kaze no Kizu!" A streak of yellow cut through the ground and zoomed towards Naraku. It collided, the yellow youki completely consumed him. Or so they thought. After the dust dissipated, Naraku hovered right above the ground, not a hair out of place, his usual red barrier surrounding him. "Tsk tsk, Inuyasha. You haven't gotten strong at all." he smirked. Suddenly, blue light enveloped Naraku along with his barrier. After several moments, when the dust finally dissipated, Naraku hovered, barrier de

stroyed. "Damn you, Sesshomaru," he hissed. And there Sesshomaru was, hovering elegantly yet somehow emitting an aura of absolute power at the same time. "Until next time, Inuyasha," Naraku sneered, before taking off into the sky and allowing his dark purple youki to envelop him. "I won't let you escape!" Sesshomaru took off into the air, raising the Tokijin. "Soryuha (Dragon Twister)!" A blue dragon made of pure youki emerged from the sword and chased after Naraku. It leapt into Naraku's cloud of youki exploded. The cloud was completely zapped with blue lightning. Distantly, Sesshomaru heard Naraku's satisfied laugh. "I expected no less of you, Sesshomaru," he heard him sneer. "Perhaps you will realize your mistake soon." With that, the cloud disappeared.

His mistake? Did he, Lord Sesshomaru of the West, make a mistake? Alas, he did, and he realized so the instant the cloud dissipated. Aiya's scent had disappeared. His eyes narrowed, and internally he cursed himself. How could he had let this happen again? Without a word, he took of into the sky, chasing after Naraku's scent. "Oy! Sesshomaru! Where are you going?" Inuyasha shouted after him. Sesshomaru did not feel the need to answer. However, for the sake of Aiya, he did. "To find Aiya!" he said, zooming away. "To find… hold on!" Inuyasha's eyes widened in panic. "Did Naraku kidnap Aiya?!" "It seems so." Miroku nodded. "Well, we gotta hurry and go save her!" Shippou exclaimed. "Yes! If we hurry and take Kirara, we might be able to catch up to- Sango-chan? Is everything okay?" Sango wasn't paying attention to their discussion. She was looking at her younger brother. "Kohaku! Kohaku! Are you all right? Are you still controlled? Kohaku!" Kagome looked at Miroku. "Is there really no way to save his life and take the shard out at the same time?" "I believe no. The shard is the only thing sustaining Kohaku's life." Miroku shook his head. Kagome sighed. "Knew it. If only we could just… wait. Hold on. I have an idea."

The group looked at her, including Sango. "What is it?" Sango asked, desperate. "Well, I'm not sure if this would work or not, but I could try purifying Kohaku's shard. Maybe then he'll be free of Naraku's control." "Try it," Sango pleaded. "Okay then…" Kagome reached out towards Kohaku. But just before her hand could make contact with his neck, Kohaku jumped up, away from Kagome. "Kohaku!" Sango cried, but it was too late. Kohaku ran into the woods. Sango tried to chase after him, only to see him zoom away with Kagura on her signature feather. "Kohaku…" she whispered sadly. Tears rolled down her face. "I… I'm so sorry, Sango-chan…" Kagome apologized profusely. "If only I purified his shard faster…" "No, it's alright," Sango said, brushing away her tears. "I'm so sorry, Sango. I promise we'll be able to save Kohaku." Miroku put a hand on her shoulder. she sniffed. "Thank you, Hoshi-sama…" she looked up with new determination. Kohaku would have to come later. Right now, what was most important was…

"We've got to go get Aiya!" she suddenly remembered. Immediately, she felt bad. What was she doing? There was another child that needed to be saved, one that had a higher chance to be saved and one that was completely innocent. Kohaku, no matter if he wanted to or not, was forced by Naraku into killing many people. His hands were stained. "Kirara!" With a meowr, Kirara transformed. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou hopped on, while Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha's back. They took off, Inuyasha in the lead, tracking Naraku and Aiya's scent. And he wasn't the only one. While the group had wasted some time over Kohaku, Sesshomaru had been valiantly chasing Naraku the entire time. And after all his worry and persistent chasing, he was rewarded by the sudden disappearance of his scent. He sighed. Another barrier? He raised the Tokijin, and with one measured and precise slash in the right place, the barrier was shattered. He continued inside.

After walking a few yards, there stood Naraku, standing defiantly tall with a smirk on his face. "I see you have come, Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Naraku," he simply said. Naraku's smile grew wider. "As I guess, you came for Aiya. My, my, Sesshomaru, you have become predictable." Sesshomaru ignored this, choosing to instead attack Naraku. He slashed his sword in a wide ark. "Soryuha!" The electric blue dragon appeared once again, flying towards Naraku, who's eyes widened. He did not have time to escape this time. On impact, the dragon shattered Naraku's body into fragments. Naraku sneered. This was going in the exact direction he wanted it to be going. Although Sesshomaru might not have realized, by destroying his body and splattering the fragments around himself, Sesshomaru was falling into his trap. Soon, he would be surrounded by Naraku's body. "It seems that the hanyou girl you cherish so much has some kind of strange power. Would you care to explain?" Sesshomaru's face froze. How did Naraku find out? Sneering, Naraku launched a tentacle at Sesshomaru.

However, before it could reach him, a streak of yellow light shattered it. "Naraku!" Inuyasha's voice rang through the air. Naraku turned his head towards the hanyou and the humans. What a pathetic bunch. Well, they arrived just on time. He would consume them too. Just as his plan went. How convenient. "I see you have arrived too, Inuyasha. A little later than I expected, but you arrived all the same, so what is there to complain about?" Inuyasha growled with anger. "Well, if you have no complaints, get ready to die, Naraku!" Miroku shouted, holding out his right hand. "Kazaana!" Naraku smirked. "Hoshi, do you not realize how pointless your Wind Tunnel is to me? Why, you try to defeat me with the curse I granted you myself. Perhaps this will teach you a lesson." With that, five poisonous wasps appeared out of nowhere, buzzing threateningly and hovering around Naraku. "Damn!" Miroku cursed and closed his right hand. Taking advantage of Naraku's distraction, Sesshomaru quickly caught Aiya's scent and flew away. Meanwhile, Inuyasha battled Naraku.

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Aiya woke up on cold, hard ground. She blinked a few times, eyes not yet adjusted to the dark room she was in. She sat up. "You're awake," said a voice. Aiya froze, head swiveling towards the sound. Barely visible, a boy sat in a corner of the room. He was in a casual position, back against the wall and an arm resting on a knee. In his hand was a sharp, curved weapon with a chain attached. Aiya backed away, afraid. "Don't be scared," the voice called out again. "I won't hurt you." She hesitated. The voice sounded friendly, yet… maybe she should test him. Onii-sama would… "Where… where am I?" she asked tentatively. The figure in the far end of the room shifted, changing position. "You have been kidnapped by Naraku," the voice said. "And you're in a wooden cabin in the middle of a forest. I'm not sure exactly where." "Who are you?" Aiya then asked. "My name is Kohaku. That is all I know. I don’t remember anything else." Curiosity aroused, Aiya carefully inched towards Kohaku. "R…really? You don't remember anyone?" Kohaku shook his head. "N…not your family? Your home? Who you are?" Again, he shook his head. Aiya lowered her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered sadly. "Don't be. It's not your fault." Kohaku replied. And Aiya wanted to trust him. She really did. But Onii-sama taught her to be wary, so she would ask this question, just in case _, just in case_ Kohaku wasn't to be trusted…

"Why are you here?" "To guard you, although I don't know why," he replied. "There are lots of youkai outside anyway." Aiya froze. So this Kohaku was a guard sent by Naraku… it couldn't be. Why? She wanted to trust him so much… Onii-sama was right after all. She felt sadness fill her heart. Suddenly, she remembered something. If her memory was correct, Naraku was currently manipulating Sango by controlling her little brother, both using him as a pawn while holding him hostage at the same time. If she wasn't mistaken, her little brother was named Kohaku. Which meant this person… maybe she could try a different tactic. "I… I wanted to know… why do you help Naraku?" "Why shouldn't I?" came the reply. Aiya paused, then tentatively said, "I… I heard from your sister that Naraku makes you do horrible things. She says… she says that he makes you kill people." Kohaku turned around to face her. Aiya's eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, and she could make out his features.

He had a generally friendly and innocent face, with some freckles across his nose and wide brown eyes. He had his dark brown hair up in a short ponytail, and was dressed in the same style of clothing Sango wore when slaying youkai, except instead of pink on the pads, yellow on the decorations, and black on most of the clothing, his was green on the decorations, yellow on the pads, and black on most of the clothing. The weapon he was holding was a sickle made out of bone, attached to a long weight-tipped chain. He looked relatively young, though, not as young as Aiya. She waited for his response, yet he remained silent. "K… Kohaku nii-san… if you don't know why you obey him, then I don't think you should!" she finally stuttered. At this, Kohaku's demeanor wavered. "I… don't know…" he hesitated. Why _was_ he obeying Naraku? He had no reason to! Maybe Aiya was right. Maybe, just maybe, he should consider disobeying Naraku, just once… _Oh? Kohaku, that's an interesting thought you're having…_ Kohaku froze. Was that Naraku? He could read his mind? _Yes, I can. So you want to disobey me, hm? Well, I'm afraid that isn't an option…_ Kohaku felt Naraku's command nudge at his brain. One that he really, really didn't want to do.

_Kill Aiya. Right now._ He shook his head. No. He wouldn't. Aiya tilted her head to the side, confused. "Kohaku nii-san?" Panicked, Kohaku yelled, "Don't come near me!" He watched as she froze and stared at him in shock. Then, Naraku's command nudged at him again. _Kill her._ No. He would not. _Kill._ No. _Kill._ No! _Kill her. Right now._ No… _Kill._ N… He felt his protests grow weaker and weaker as his consciousness was submitted to Naraku. His eyes glazed over. "Kohaku nii-san? What's wrong?" Aiya carefully edged toward him, confused and worried. Kohaku stood up and raised his weapon. Aiya looked up at him, still confused. He brought down the sickle. Last second, Aiya realized what was happening and fell backward in shock. The sharp edge scraped her face, oozing blood. She stared at him, eyes widening. Why was he doing this? Was he obeying Naraku again? She thought she had convinced him… trembling in terror, she backed to a corner of the room. _Why?_ Why did he have to do this? She pondered this question the entire time. When Kohaku cornered her. When he raised his weapon. When he brought it down. When the wooden floorboards were soaked in her blood.

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Naraku smirked. It was over. Once Sesshomaru discovered Aiya's death, darkness would fill his heart. He will kill Kohaku. Then, the demon slayer would hate him for killing her little brother. And that darkness would spread, from the girl to the hoshi to the miko. Inuyasha would also hate Kohaku for killing his sister. He wouldn't be able to take sides. So both Sesshomaru and the demon slayer would hate him. And the group would be split up. And the darkness would grow stronger. And that darkness would contaminate the Shikon no Tama. "What are ya smiling about, you bastard?!" shouted Inuyasha, leaping into the air and slashing his sword down. "Bakuryuha (Backlash Wave)!" Naraku sneered. There was no need to continue stalling. Kohaku had finished his mission. It was time to leave. "Goodbye, Inuyasha!" Naraku flew into the air, obscured by his cloud of youki. "He's escaping!" Inuyasha yelled. But it was too late. Two seconds later, Naraku was nowhere to be seen. Speaking of which, Sesshomaru was also gone. Where did he go. Inuyasha shrugged. More importantly, he had to go look for Aiya. But then, he got a whiff of the scent of blood. Aiya's blood. "Hurry! Guys! We've got to go!" He was panicked. And he wasn't the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this, everyone! The next chapter is gonna take a while to upload, because I need to work on this thing called History Fair. It's a project for school. Thank you so much for understanding, and make sure to join my discord for special character reveals! You will also get a chance to submit a character for this fanfic!


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